Seeing Through the Dark
by alyssialui
Summary: Draco has to do six months of community service at St. Mungo's, but at least it's better than a stay in Azkaban. But what is Hermione doing there? Dramione. Post-Hogwarts
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: What if Hermione went blind? When she wakes up in St Mungo's, how will she cope? And it just so happens, Draco Malfoy is spending the next six months there doing community service. Will this horrible occurrence be the start of a friendship between the two, or even something more?_

_As always, read and review. Check out my other fics. And I do not own anything you realize, just the plot._

* * *

Darkness. That's what she saw. That's what she felt, smelled, heard and tasted. It assaulted all her senses all at once. But there was something else she felt: pain, everywhere. Her muscles ached just by thinking about them and her throat felt dry. What had happened to her?

She tried to do something else. She inhaled deeply and recognized the stinging smell of cleaning supplies. She was somewhere clean, somewhere _very_ clean actually. She noticed now that the smell was almost overpowering.

She tried another sense. She heard muffled shuffling some distance away and quiet voices. Okay then, there were people somewhere close, just a few steps away.

But now she panicked. She could feel the pain, hear the sounds, smell the cleaning supplies and taste just how dry her tongue was but she couldn't see. She tried to pry her eyes open, ready to find out exactly where she was but she couldn't. She made the motion over and over but was still left in the dark. That didn't make sense.

More feelings came to her and she felt the presence of a tight bandage around her head. How had she not noticed before? Ignoring the pain in her arms, she reached up and moved the bandage slightly to uncover her eyes. She really hated not knowing. She made to open her eyes again but still nothing. Just the same darkness. She moved her hands to her face and then.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Two men walked briskly through the crowded lobby of the Spell Damage floor of St. Mungo's trying to avoid stumbling over the feet of harried healers. The round man in front bristled at having almost fallen to floor by a wayward shove for the third time. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, his blonde moustache shifting under his bulbous nose.

Draco just looked around disinterestedly. Under his sentence, as deemed a child unfit to have voluntarily followed the Dark Lord of his own will, he chose six months of community service over a year in Azkaban. He didn't want to be here but he guessed it was better than spending twice the time in Azkaban. **_Pop a few boils, feed some old ladies and I'll be done in no time._**

The man was talking to him again, his shoulders moving as he spoke.

"...You will report to Healer Headley while you are here. She will give you your assignments every morning, which patients to see and tasks to complete. At the end of the six months, she'll send me an evaluation of your performance and then there will be another deliberation hearing then." Draco rolled his eyes behind the man's back.

They stopped in the corridor in front of a tall elder witch with pallid grey hair stuck into a tight bun. There was no hint of a smile on her face, only extreme weariness.

"Ah, Healer Headley. This will be your young ward for the next six months," Mr Boyd introduced to the witch, putting a hand on Draco's shoulders. Draco almost shrugged off the hand. He didn't really like people touching him.

"I see, Mr Boyd. I understand the circumstances regarding taking _him _in but I do think he'll learn a lot from the experience." Draco scowled, unable to hold back his irritation at her attitude towards him.

She extended a hand to him, "Emma Headley."

He looked down at it scornfully, but under Mr Boyd's stare, he grudgingly returned her handshake and with a forced smile said, "Draco Malfoy."

She nodded and then turned to the two of them, "Now, if you gentlemen will follow me to my office, then we can-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone in the corridor turned wildly towards the sound of the noise. _**Must be a mental patient.**_ Healer Headley mouth turned down before she said, "Actually, if you would like to wait for me in my office please? I need to handle this situation personally."

Mr Boyd gave Healer Headley a curt nod before walking further down the corridor. Other healers on the floor followed Healer Headley towards the door of the screaming patient while Mr Boyd tugged Draco along. He turned just in time to see Healer Headley burst through the patient's room and say, "Ms Granger, calm down please."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Got some good feedback so I'll continue on and give you another chapter. Hermione and Draco meet in this chapter._

_As usual, read and review. I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Hermione scratched at her face until she could feel dead skin and blood clump under her fingernails. She could feel her eyelids opening and closing but she still couldn't see anything. She opened her eyes as far as she could but nothing helped.

"Ms Granger, calm down please." She felt someone hold onto her wrists and hold her arms firmly at her sides. Other persons came around and were holding the rest of her body down as she thrashed wildly.

"Ms Granger please." Someone forced something down her throat. She almost gagged but then a cool sensation travelled down her stomach and out towards her extremities. Her body rested under their hands and she go feel them let go.

"Ms Granger, I'm Healer Headley," a female voice said somewhere to her right. Hermione moved her head towards the voice but there was no way she knew if she was actually facing the woman. Another hand moved up to the bandage and readjusted the bandage.

Hermione said, "Ms Headley, why am I here? Why can't I see anything?"

The lady spoke again, "You came here last night clinging to life Ms Granger. We did everything we could but we weren't able to get back your sight. Do you remember anything?"

Hermione didn't hear anything after the word 'sight'. No... she whispered softly. She started scratching at her face again, trying in vain to open her eyes, wanting for the blinding orb that was stationed in every room of St. Mungos to shine onto her retinas. Anything!

Her hands were held down again, "Ms Granger, you need to stop doing that. We're doing everything we can but right now, yes you are legally blind."

Hermione could feel the sting of her tears and the wetness travelling down her cheeks. This wasn't real. Must be a dream.

Healer Headley repeated again, "Do you remember anything about last night?"

She tried to think back but she was drawing a blank. It hurt to trying to think about it and she started to feel slightly dizzy. Without the calming draught, she would have surely felt worse. "The last thing I remember was leaving my friends at the Leaky Cauldron after a night out."

The room was still. No air passed through the room. The window must be closed, if there even is a window. Hermione would have thought the lady had left her if not for her light breathing.

"Ms Granger, during your examination, our diagnostic spells sensed some foul play so we have notified the Aurors about this." She heard the lady move around the room and open a door. "For now, you will stay in this room until some progress is made." And then the door closed.

So she was condemned to this darkness until further notice. No longer would she see the sun, the sky, the grass. Her books... Her eyelids widened again under the bandage. Still nothing. The wetness was on her cheeks again, she even felt it dampen the bandage slightly. What had happened? Who had done this? Why couldn't she remember anything. She rolled over onto her side. She didn't want anyone to see her.

* * *

The door opened and the old hag came back into the room. "Thank you for your patience gentlemen." She took a seat behind the desk in front of the men. Her desk was piled with worn folders and parchments and tall filing cabinets stood behind her. **_Probably more folders._**

She quickly shuffled through the items on her desk before handing a sheet to Draco and Mr Boyd, "If Mr Malfoy would fill out that form and Mr Boyd, just sign at the bottom, then Mr Malfoy can start today."

Draco was about to refuse but Mr Boyd spoke above him, "Splendid."

Grumbling, Draco did as the witch asked and the document was signed. Mr Boyd turned to him, "I hope all goes well Mr Malfoy."

Mr Boyd left and then Healer Headley got up from her desk and walked towards him. "Today, you will be working this floor. Please follow me."

She led him back through the crowded hallway. As he spied into rooms he saw a man with a boot for a head, a woman with a large purple growth protruding from her neck and another man who let out a butterfly every time he hiccupped. He grimaced a bit. He hoped they weren't contagious.

They stopped near a cart loaded with vials and jars. "Each of these potions have a patient's name and the room number. Today, you are in charge of distributing them."

Malfoy groaned, "Why can't you just send them magically."

Healer Headley frowned, "With how crowded the floor is, these vials would probably be broken or empty before they reached the patient. This is the best way."

He groaned again before grabbing the handle of the cart. "When the cart is empty, come back here. There will be another cart at that time." Then she left him and went back to her office.

* * *

"Matthew Pudmore - Pimple Cream, Samantha Garb - Sleeping Draught." Malfoy walked along the corridor, bumping into everyone. The cart was very wide and cumbersome. _**There has to be a better way.**_ He hadn't developed a system yet, which caused him to walk to the end of the corridor for one delivery only for the next one to be at the other end. He was tired and only on his second cart.

After dropping off Mirande Fisher's Wart Salve, he picked up another vial.

"Hermione Granger?" So she really was here. He smirked. At least he'd have some fun while he was here.

He walked up to her room and knocked. When he received no response, he pushed in.

"Oi Granger, I got your Pain Relief potion."

He turned to look at her. She was in a pale green hospital gown and curled up to face the wall. Her bushy brown hair fanned around her on the pillow. Her face looked peaceful but a large bandage was wrapped around her head over her eyes. He was about to place the vial onto the table by her bed when she started to shake in her sleep.

Draco's eyes widened. Should he find a healer or just wake her up? He forcibly shook her shoulder and she stilled. She let out a low groan and then said, "Hello? Who's there?"

"Get up Mudblood. Time for your potion?"

"Malfoy!" she spat. "What are you doing here? Come to finish me off?" She groaned again and clutched her head. Once the calming draught wore off, everything hurt again.

He laughed, "As much I'd enjoy that, I'm not the one who put you here. I'm here to repay my debt to society." He handed her the vial. "Why are you here?"

She downed the vial and then looked towards him, or rather a spot near to him. "I'm not sure actually." She placed the empty vial on the table beside her.

He went around and snatched the vial off the table but her head never followed his movement. _**Strange.**_

He put empty vial on the cart and then made towards the door. Before he left he said, "And by the way, that bandage make you look a hundred times better."

"OUT!" she said pointing towards the wall to her right but not directly at the door. He chuckled and then closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here's chapter three for all my readers. Please enjoy and review. Check out my other stuffs. _

_Also, I do not own Harry Potter unfortunately._

* * *

Diagon Alley was alive with merriment, wizards and witches walking this way and that as they enjoyed themselves. It was lightly snowing and everyone was bundled up, kicking up the fluffs of snow with their feet.

Hermione was caught up in the hustle and bustle. She had just left a slightly tipsy Ron and Harry in the care of Ginny at the Leaky Cauldron after a long day hanging out with them. They had visited most of the shops in the alley, stocking up on supplies and perusing their wares. They even stopped in on George, who was trying to bring the store back to its former glory. It was slow going and something just seemed to be missing, but as George had said, "Fred wouldn't have wanted this place to die out just because of a silly war." Hermione and her friends smiled but they could still see the emptiness George hid behind his mask. They had to be strong for him to be strong.

_**I should get George some type of present, like a store-warming gift.**_ She chuckled to herself but was soon distracted by the enticing smell of cinnamon. She looked to her left and noticed a small stand selling hot pretzels and cinnamon buns. One sickle less and thousand times happier, Hermione continued her walk down Diagon Alley. She closed her eyes as the gooey centre covered her tongue with sugar and sweetness.

She didn't see the man in the hooded cloak shaded in the alley to her left.

She didn't hear his gruff voice, scraping along the wind but mostly drowned out by the other sounds around her.

She didn't feel the spell as it burned her eyes or the stones that pressed into her skin when she fell.

* * *

Hermione woke up with a yawn and a stretch feeling much better than she did the day before. She opened her eyes to greet the day but still nothing. So it wasn't a dream. She would never greet the day again. White hot tears from sadness and anger sat in her eyes but they did not fall. She did not want to cry anymore over something she could not change.

She listened keenly to the sounds around her. More shuffling and bustling. Muffled talking. Seems like it's day time but it's hard to tell in a hospital, people are always moving around no matter the time. Without light, she had no sense of time.

She sighed and fell back onto her pillows. She'd just have to wait.

* * *

"I wonder which room she's in, Harry." Ron asked, narrowly avoiding a purple man on a floating gurney being rushed into a room down the corridor. Ron held his breath as the man burped out horrid brown bubbles that smelt like rotten eggs when they popped.

Ginny ran back from the information desk. "She's in room 72, guys." She dragged the boys and hands and expertly weaved her way through the countless bodies swarming the hallway. Ron chuckled over her red hair, "There's reason she's a chaser, mate". Harry smiled back cheekily.

They knocked on the door and heard, "Hello? Who's there?" and then pushed in.

The room was dark except for the dim light that slipped in through the small space between the curtains. They saw the brown haired witch lying on her small bed in the corner on her back facing the ceiling. Her head was turned slightly their way but her eyes were covered by the thick bandage around her head. Ginny ran up and threw her hands around the witch's neck, suffocating her.

Hermione spat, "Ginny, your hair is in my mouth. Ah!" She pushed the red-haired girl away at arms length.

Harry and Ron came over from the door and stood around her bed. They held her hands and asked, "Mione, what happened to you? We came as soon as we found out."

Hermione was silent for awhile and her mouth turned down in a frown. Then she separated from their grasps and lay back on her back facing the ceiling. Her hands were flat against her stomach. She seemed to be thinking.

Her words came out measured, "I'm not exactly sure. I left you guys in the Leaky Cauldron and now I'm here." Her voice tapered off and the boys cast side-long glances at each other nervously.

Ginny inquired, "You don't how you got here?"

Hermione whispered, "No."

Harry spoke again, "Well, how are you feeling now then?"

Hermione still spoke softly, "I'm doing better than yesterday. Woke up in a lot of pain but today, I don't feel anything." She still wouldn't face them.

Ginny frowned, "What's wrong with you, Hermione? Why won't you look at us?"

Hermione remained silent but Ginny noticed the twin trails that escaped from under the bandage over her eyes.

Ron held her hand, tracing small circles across her knuckles, "Cmon Mione, talk to us. Is something else wrong?"

She waited awhile and then her voice broke as she said, "I can't see."

* * *

"Ugh," Draco grimaced as the trays sloshed around on his push cart. Today he was delivering meals to the patients on the ward, again without magic. And Healer Headley said the same thing as before, "The food will fly out and create a mess." _**Malfoys shouldn't be reduced to such menial**_** labour.**

Malfoy hit another bump on the floor and the contents of a bowl fell messily onto the floor. A healer almost skidded through it, glaring at Draco before continuing on her way. He scowled right back her before cleaning up the mess and continuing through his duty. He stopped outside room 72 and smirked. _**Ah, Granger's room again.**_

Picking up her breakfast tray, he knocked and then pushed through the door.

"Oi Granger, I got your-"

Four heads spun towards him, three pairs of eyes glared at him and he was sure Granger would be if not for the bandage.

"Malfoy!" Potter, Weasel and Weaselette hissed in unison.

"Is this the snake trio? Should I get my sitar?" He laughed and placed her tray on her bedside table ignoring their glares.

"What are you here, you Death Eater?" Ron said angrily.

Draco wagged his finger towards Ron, "That's Mr Death Eater, Weasel. Show some respect."

Potter moved defensively in front of Granger, "Why are here, Malfoy?"

He smirked and said, "Repaying my debt to society one meal tray at a time."

The trio scowled at him again but Granger was just on her back facing the ceiling. Draco had to get out of here. Their Gryffindor bond was getting to him.

"Well, since I know how much you care for the mudblood, I'll leave you to feed her. God knows, I won't."

Draco then traipsed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

He pressed his ear on the outside of the door, listening for them to resume their conversation. He had to find out what was wrong with Granger.

Their voices were muffled.

_"-are you sure? Maybe-"_

_"-we came as soon as we heard-"_

_"-maybe Mum can-"_

_**Could they speak any louder? What are they talking about?**_

_"-the blind girl that-"_

"Mr Malfoy!"

Draco stood up suddenly, his back bumping into his food cart and sending another bowl onto the floor. This time two healers did fall, one directly into the half-full bowl of soup.

He turned straight-faced towards Healer Headley. She glared down at him, "I would have thought you would have the decency to give persons their privacy. Move along, Mr Malfoy."

Without a word, Draco squared his shoulders, cleaned up the mess, ignored the healer drowning in the soup and pushed his cart down the hall once again.

_**Who were they talking about? Blind girl? Granger?**_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank for your reviews so far, getting some positive feedback. _Here's the next chapter. _Read and review. Check out my other stuff._

_I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

_She was on the ground and everything was dark. Where was she? What happened to her? Pain shot through her body, starting from her heart and flowing through her blood vessels down to her toes. It felt like she was burning but also submerged in an icy lake. She smelt blood and could hear screaming. Who was screaming?_

_The pain stopped and her throat felt raw. She was the one screaming. She felt sticky and warm liquid around her. It was her blood as well. She was still in the dark though. Was she alone? Was her attacker still here?_

_She heard heavy footfalls approach her body. She tried to pull herself onto her hands, tried to crawl away from the feet, but it was hard. Her legs refused to respond her brain, they would not move. She realized, there was no feeling there at all._

_A chuckle. She could hear the smirk. "Oh my dear, don't run from me. Don't waste your energy. You won't get far."_

_He was right on top of her before she felt her head tugged back. He was holding her by her hair, the prickling sensation of pain on her scalp. Then she felt cold metal on her exposed neck._

_"I could continue having my fun with you, let your blood run freely on the street for another hour, but your screams will eventually draw attention. A silencing charm is only so strong. I could have other kinds of fun with you."_

_He stopped to run his tongue from under her ear down _through the stickyness on the side of her neck _to her collarbone. "But I don't want to dirty myself any further. I could use an Avada but I want you to bleed out. I'll just end this quickly."_

_The coppery taste of blood was on her tongue. The cold metal pressed on her throat harder. She could feel her heartbeat thump against the blade. This was it for her._

_Suddenly he released her hair. Metal clanged against the stones to her right as she fell to the ground hard. She didn't hear the rushed footsteps before she blacked out._

* * *

Hermione woke up clutching her head. The pain was back. Her hand ran over the bandage around her head. Why couldn't she just take it off? She tugged it off and then ran a hand through her now free hair. Her hand tangled a myriad of knots.

She scrunched up her nose. She needed to wash it, probably even take a bath. Where was the bathroom and shower? How would she even find it? She felt around the bedsheets and started to get worried. Where was her wand?

The door opened softly. "Ms Granger?"

Hermione hadn't heard this voice before. It sounded young. "Hello? Who's there?" She'd have to ask that question for the rest of her life. She looked away from the voice.

"I'm Healer Samuel. Just started Healer-" The girl froze and Hermione held her breath. Was something wrong? Was someone else in the room?

The girl spoke again, chuckling nervously, "I'm sorry, I just didn't expect to see you without your bandage. You really should be wearing it."

My bandage. Hermione moved her hands to her face. Her eyelids were open. She waved her hands in front of her. Still nothing. "What's wrong with me?"

"Your eyes just startled me. They're kinda grey and vacant. I just started my Healer training today, so I'm not used to anything yet."

Hermione felt like crying. She was scary now. She didn't want to see herself. She closed her eyes tightly.

The girl cleared her throat, "I've been assigned to your room today. How are you feeling?"

She groaned. The pain was still there though. "I need a potion for this headache. And I was wondering if I could take a shower."

The girl chuckled, "I can get pain-relief potion sent up. And I'm assuming you want a real shower and not a scourgify. I can help you with that now and I'll replace the bandage afterwards."

Hermione smiled, "Yes thank you."

The girl helped her out of the bed and helped her with her shower. When she was back in bed, a fresh bandage around her clean, drying hair, the girl handed her the potion. Downing it in one gulp, Hermione laid back waiting for the potion to take effect.

* * *

"Hello, Hermione?" a familiar voice said to her left. She felt kind of groggy. How did she not notice someone come in? She was probably sleeping. It was hard to tell the difference.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Hermione." The familiar smell of treacle tart engulfed her as arms came around her neck.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

"Hermione, I was so worried when Ronald and Ginny said you were here," Mrs Weasley sobbed out. Hermione could feel wetness on her shoulder.

She felt another hand on her arm, "Hey Hermione."

"George? You're here."

"Yes Hermione. I wanted to be here for you," he said softly.

Her eyes were tearing up again. Why was she so mopey? She wasn't used to this Hermione. She held back the tears.

"Thank you for being here. I guess they told you what happened to me."

She felt Mrs Weasley's hair move as she nodded. She didn't know what George was doing. "I hope they find the creep who did this to you. He can't get away with this." Mrs. Weasley moved away from her, her warmth leaving Hermione's neck.

The hand on her arms moved up to her hair, grazing the top of the bandage. George's strong voice was right outside her ear. "You've always been so strong and always been there for me. It actually hurts to see you like this. So, I'll be there for you." He placed a small kiss on her forehead and stood up.

Mrs Weasley spoke up, "Harry and Ron are already at the Ministry getting more information. But you know them, even if they're rejected, they'll find a way."

She heard their footsteps move towards the door. George called out, "We'll visit again soon, Hermione." And then the door closed.

* * *

Draco was pushing another cart. What's with all these bloody carts? Today he was delivering books and the Prophet for the patients to read. He would also have to read to some of the elderly wizards and witches if they needed him to. _**Riveting.**_

He looked down at his list. _**The bookworm is on this list? Figures.**_

He skipped right to her name and entered her room. "Hello? Who's there?" she called out.

"I'm here to drop off a book for you to read." He saw her there, propped up on her pillows, the bandage still over her head.

She turned towards him and her eyebrows knitted. "What? Why would I be on that list?"

Draco looked at her with a weird expression. "Even I know you like reading, Granger." He looked at the books on the trolley. "What's your pick today? _Ludo's Travels through Muggle London_, _Witch Weekly_ or the _Prophet_?"

He looked back up at her. She turned away from him and just stared at the wall opposite her. Then she said softly, "Take them away. I don't know who put me on that list."

"Come on Granger. Read something to make your stay more enjoyable. I need to get most of the stuff on the cart off before I return it or I'll have to start all over again."

He walked up to her, waving the Prophet in front of her face. "There's a fascinating article about the benefits of adding flobberworms to your di-."

Her hand suddenly darted out, grabbing his wrist roughly. The Prophet fell from his hand and onto her lap. "I** can't see, you bastard!**" She threw his hand away from her. "Get out of here!" She pointed to a spot to the left of the door.

Draco froze. He hadn't been expecting that and he didn't know how to react. He swallowed thickly, picked up the paper and pushed his trolley quickly out of her room.

* * *

_A/N 2: This is a Dramione story, more that will come up in the next chapters, but I'm just showing some Weasley love, especially George-brotherly love._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Draco is so inconsiderate. How will he get back into Hermione's good graces enough to make them friends? Tee hee. And Harry and Ron decide to meddle._

_Read and review. Check out my other stuff. And I do not own Harry Potter._

_Also I do not own the poems: _Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens by Jack Prelutsky or Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.

* * *

There was a strange feeling suffocating Draco as he stood outside Granger's door. He probably shouldn't have gotten in her face like that. He hadn't seen in her since the battle, and then she just happened to be in St. Mungo's during his community service. She could have been here for anything but he would have never thought it would be because she lost her sight. When he thought about it, he had never actually met a blind wizard, especially none in his own age group. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to not be able to see even the hand in front of his own face.

He sighed. He finally identified the feeling: guilt. He didn't like it. It was foreign to him. He never regretted anything before, never cared if he was hurting anyone as long as he got his way. He shook his head and pushed forward with his trolley. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to be bothered.

But he didn't know that guilt has a way of eating you alive.

* * *

There was soft knock on the door before it creeked open. Hermione lay on her side with her back to the door. She was on the edge of sleep when she heard it. She blinked her eyes behind the bandage. Hermione didn't even bother to ask who it was. She no longer cared.

There was some shuffling before she heard something metal scrape along the tiled floor but then stop near her bed. She could feel the presence of someone behind her but she still didn't move. Maybe if they thought she was sleeping, they would leave.

The person cleared their throat. She heard the fluttering of pages and smell of well-worn pages flew into her nose. A low, smooth voice floated through her ears.

"Last night I dreamed of chickens, there were chickens everywhere,..."

She tensed. What was he doing back here after she had sent him away? She didn't want to have anyone around, especially him. She waited and listened but did not turn to face him.

"...they were ruffling up their feathers as they raced about my bed..."

She made a small noise and could feel herself being lulled by his voice. He was reading with all the inflections necessary and sounded like he was enjoying the poem himself. She had heard this poem before in all her reading and she had always found it funny. How did he know it?

"...when I woke today, I noticed there were eggs on top of me." he ended.

She felt so comfortable now. Poems always made her feel better. But she was still confused. He was showing her a softer side. He had never been like that around her. He'd always been the snarky, insulting and spiteful Malfoy.

She finally spoke, "Why are you back here?"

He spoke softly, "When the patients cannot read for themselves, I'm supposed to read for them."

Ah, always a reason. Explains a lot.

"That's a muggle book," she said simply.

There was a pause before he said, "It might be. Should I continue?"

As long as she had him here, she might get something out of it. There was a small smile on her face before she turned her body to face him. Her bushy hair came around her and the bandage crinkled above her cheeks.

"Is the Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll in that book?"

She heard the flipping of pages and then, "You're in luck."

She smiled brighter. "Read it please. With all the fixings"

He chuckled. It was a relaxed sound. He began, "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves. Did gyre and gimble in the wabe..."

* * *

"We need this information! One of our best friends was almost killed, left for dead and now she's blind, because that bastard. We need the information to track them down."

The harried ministry official behind the desk was nervous. "I'm sorry Mr Potter, but no one is privy to that information except the Aurors on the case."

Ron slammed his fist on the desk, causing a stack of files to flutter to the floor. The woman's eyes widened, "Then get us on that case!"

She stammered out, "I-I-I- don't have that authority. You have to talk to Mr Burgess."

Harry said, "Where's Burgess?"

A deep voice came up behind the two men, "Good morning, gentlemen. How can I help you?"

Harry and Ron spun around to face a large man in splendid green robes. His smooth head reflected the harsh lighting of the lobby. They both had to look up at him, even though Ron was already an intimidating 6'2".

Harry spoke up, "Mr Burgess, there was a case the other night involving a Hermione Granger. We would like to be assigned to that team."

The man looked down at them, his face expressionless. "I'm sorry Mr Potter, but there are enough Aurors on that case already. I will not be adding more. It would be a waste of resources."

Harry pleaded, "Hermione Granger is a friend of ours. She was almost killed. Her attacker needs to be found as soon as possible.

Mr Burgess put a hand on the two men's shoulder, "Yes, I know of your relation to Ms Granger, and this is exactly why if I were to add more persons, they wouldn't be you. You are too close to this case and are prone to act irrationally. We need persons who will perform objectively without emotion."

"I am sorry, gentlemen," he ended, not sounding the least bit. He pat each on the shoulder before walking through them.

Harry and Ron were left standing there as the receptionist rearranged her desk. Ron looked over at Harry with a fixed look and Harry gave a subtle nod. Time to do what they did best.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you all for reviewing and reading. Been getting a lot of positive feedback. Special thanks to the reviews from **WheresDaBeef** and **willow136**. Keep them coming. Also, check out my other stories and fics._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

"Ok Ron, I'll get the case file, you create a diversion," Harry whispered to his right.

Ron whined, "Why can't you be the diversion?"

Harry grinned, "Because I'm the one with the Invisibility cloak."

Ron grumbled before pulling out a pocket of dung bombs. The pair quickly ran through the corridor outside Burgess' office, dropping the dungbombs as they went. Once outside the office door, they unlocked it and threw in 3 of the bombs. Casting a bubble head charm, Harry ran into the office under the cloak.

Burgess was at his desk holding his nose and fanning the air in front of him before he ran out of the office with tears in his eyes. Harry slunk up to the massive file cabinets behind Burgess' desk and began his search. He only had a few minutes before the dungbombs would dissipate or be cleared by any officials. He shuffled through drawer after drawer, getting increasingly frustrated. He screamed and then turned towards Burgess' desk. There lay the golden folder on top of a large pile of other cases. Harry duplicated the folder before pocketing the copy and running out of the office.

He ran back to the lobby to see a nervous-looking Ron standing near the lifts with his nose held high above the stench. He pulled off the cloak and the two boarded a lift silently amidst the chaos.

* * *

Hermione was bored out of her mind. Ginny, George and Mrs Weasley had come to visit her again. Ginny brought her some chocolate frogs and George brought her some jokes from the shop. Though the sentiment was there, it just wasn't the same when she couldn't see Ginny's face as she ate a Frothy Toffee or see George's new fake wand sparks.

She decided to try walking, anything to stop the boredom, and she figured she'd have to get used to getting around eventually. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and they dangled. The ground was farther than she thought it was. She jumped down and wobbled a bit on unsure legs. She held onto the bed and made her way to the wall. She crept along, her hands pulling herself across the wall as she explored through her fingers. She encountered posters, the edge of a window? a mirror frame? and almost walked straight into a wall cabinet and then the table by her bed.

Feeling proud of herself, she decided to walk into the middle of the room. Stepping boldly, she let go of the table and held her hands out in front of her. Her confidence was soon shattered when her feet tangled into the legs of the chair across from her bed and she landed painfully on her side to the floor. The pain shot through her legs and she gasped. She weakly called out to whoever may hear her but she wasn't very hopeful. The hospital was too noisy for someone to hear her quiet cry.

* * *

Draco was carrying a large bucket full of flowers. Today, he was supposed to spread cheer to the patients. He gagged at even the thought. He would knock on the door, greet the elderly witch or grumpy wizard, plop a couple daisies into each vase and then move along. Some persons smiled and some persons cursed him for interrupting whatever they were doing. _**Ungrateful wretches.**_

Draco just happened to be running past room 72 when he heard a small whimper. He hadn't gone back into Granger's room since he read to her. She wasn't on his list of deliveries today. He was about to continue down the hallway when he heard a quiet 'help'.

He pushed open the door and saw the poor girl sprawled on the floor, her head against the cool tile with her hand clutching her side. He placed the bucket onto to the floor next to the door and pulled her off the ground by her arms. She groaned and her legs curled into her body. He carefully held her and soon she was back in bed.

She lay in the bed now, taking deep breaths and clutching her side. She was breaking out in a slight sweat. Draco was worried. "Granger, how did you get on the floor?"

Through her sharp gasps, she said, "I. fell."

"No shit." She groaned again. "Should I call a healer?"

She gritted her teeth and then said, "Yes please."

Draco ran from the room and soon returned with Healer Headley.

Healer Headley looked down at the distressed girl and Draco thought he actually saw a look of compassion on the woman's face. Maybe it was a trick of the light because as he blinked, her face was stern as usual. "Thank you for getting me, Mr Malfoy. You may resume your duties."

He wanted to stay. He wanted to find out more about why Granger was here, why was she in so much pain, but upon Healer Headley's hard glare, he picked up his bucket, placed one daisy in the vase of Granger's room and left.

* * *

Healer Headley waved her wand over Hermione, concentrated mostly on her injured side and her legs. Pocketing it, she said to the brown-haired witch, "When you came in, there was hardly any feeling in your legs. We thought you would be paralyzed but we were able to treat them. The fall you just had has frazzled some of your still delicate nerves. So, I'll give a potion for that but no more walking for the next two days."

Hermione groaned again but out of annoyance. She slapped one of the hands from her side to her forehead."So I'm stuck in this bed even longer!?"

Healer Headley frowned and then said, "After the two days, we will talk about your release, but not before."

Hermione had a small smile but then it turned into a grimace. Healer Headley spoke up, "I'll send the potion to your room in a minute. Try not to move during the two days."

Healer Headley left and the door closed. She sighed. She still didn't know the full extent of her injuries, but apparently she was lucky to even walk at all. She tried to remember what happened but her mind was still drawing a blank. Hermione touched her side and her legs with her hand. She felt the shocks flow through her with each touch, her legs cramping and twitching uncontrollably, but there was no feeling in her feet. She hoped she wouldn't lose her feet now over her stupid fall.

The door opened and she heard the voice of the young Healer Samuel greet her and hand her the potion. The potion flowed through her and the pain subsided. Hermione could wiggle her toes again and her mouth spread into a peaceful smile, the light fragrant smell of daisies lulling her to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Only Draco and Hermione in this chapter, so s_ome Dramione moments appear. _We will see the other characters come back in the next chapter and Harry and Ron begin their freelancing._

_Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. Read and Review this one. Check out my other fics if you haven't already. I have written more since the last update of this story, so you might find something new that you'll like. Also, I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

For the first time in his six days at St. Mungo's, Draco was on top of his schedule. He had finished his morning duties and had nothing else to do until the lunchtime deliveries. He walked idly around the hospital, staring into random rooms to occupy himself. He wasn't very social with his coworkers, he didn't care enough to get to know them as he'd be leaving in six months. And he had enough of the undisguised stares and glares from the healers into the lunchroom. No one wanted to be friendly with an ex-Death Eater.

He happened to walk past Granger's room, the only person he spoke to somewhat amicably, if you could call it that. They weren't at each others throats as was expected. She wasn't as snarky and annoying as he thought she would be. He now saw her intellect as new and refreshing. There was something deeper behind it, something loving and kind. He held no grudge against her, for her blood or their previous disputes. He had been the instigator in most of their fights and blood purity meant nothing in the eye of death and gore. She was just a human being, a nice girl, someone who actually spoke him without those glares. Not that she wouldn't if needed, she just couldn't right now. Although it was an unfortunate circumstance, he was happy to have some reprieve from accusing eyes. But he was deadly curious. He had to find out how she got here. He pushed open her door without knocking.

* * *

A very strong smell woke Hermione up this morning. Turning her head towards the smell, she wondered what it was; it smelt putrid. Then she heard a soft voice, "Good morning Ms Granger. Please take the potion located on your table to your right."

Hermione hesitantly reached her right hand out to the voice, careful not to knock anything over. Her fingers met cool glass and she picked up the vial. The smell intensified as she brought it closer to her. She held her nose and stomached the contents, only gagging once.

Once finished, Hermione smelled another fragrance in the room: something flowery. Hermione's knowledge of horticulture was far and in between, she wasn't particularly interested in flower books, but she knew this was just the slight aroma of daisies. Hermione smiled. She liked daisies, but not as much as sunflowers. She missed sunflowers.

The door opened and Hermione felt someone sit on the end of her bed. "Good morning Granger."

Hermione turned her head towards the person's voice, "Malfoy, what are you doing here today?" She couldn't stop the smile from showing on her face. She was happy for somebody, anybody, to visit her. And since her poetry reading, she wasn't as judgemental of the blond haired boy. He actually seemed calmer now and more tolerant, so she could be too. It was that, or be completely lonely.

She felt the bed shift and then he said, "I have free time to roam the hospital."

Hermione fell back onto her pillows, her hand across her bandaged eyes. "I wish I could roam, but I'm stuck in the dreadful bed."

Hermione heard no sound beside then his weight left the bed and the door closed. _**He left me! Just when I thought he was nice. Can't be around depressed and whiny women. Insensitive.**_

The door creaked open again and then the sound of rickety wheels filled the small room. "Granger, let's go for a walk."

Hermione blushed, inwardly embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. She laughed out loud, "Malfoy, I'm not supposed to walk. After I fell, I have to stay off my feet for two days."

The wheels moved back and forth over the tiled floor, "That's why I brought this wheelchair."

Hermione's mouth opened in an O before saying, "Malfoy, I don't kn-"

"Granger, stop being difficult and get in the chair."

Hermione slammed her hand on the bed, "I can't see the chair to get in it."

Draco chuckled, "Right. Hold on a sec."

Hermione felt Malfoy's strong arms come around her back and under her knees. She was slightly scared when her weight left the bed, her legs tensed over his arm but soon she was deposited in the wheelchair.

"Ok, hold on tight and be quiet. Healer Headley doesn't know I'm doing this."

Hermione gasped, "You're breaking me out?"

Draco said, "Well I could put you back and-"

Hermione grinned devilishly, "Onwards, getaway driver!"

* * *

_**Who knew Granger was such as a rule-breaker? Not that this was a very big rule to break, but any rule would be big to Granger.**_

Draco pushed the wheelchair as quickly as possible through the hallways. He couldn't afford Healer Headley finding out he had moved a patient without permission. But it seemed everyone was so caught up, no one noticed the young blind girl laughing maniacally and the Death-Eater intern grinning behind her.

The large door burst forth and the heat of the sun hit their skin full force. Draco looked down at her, her face angled up to the sky and her smile wider than he had seen it since her stay here.

She moved her head back and forth as her nose twitched. Draco could smell it too - the smell of baking bread. She asked him, her voice breathy, "Malfoy, where are we?"

He moved her closer to the edge and then stood on her left with arms on the railing in front of them. He looked out at the scenery and saw the muggle street below and a small store in the direction of the lovely smell of bread. He spoke up, "We are on the Fourth Floor balcony. There's a bunch of flowers up here and the muggle street below. I think I see a bakery nearby."

He winced a bit as he mentioned 'seeing' but she seemed to not have noticed. She breathed in deeply and then she turned towards his voice. "That explains the smells. It's wonderful up here. Can you push me closer to the flowers?"

Draco smiled and wheeled her into the middle of the balcony garden. There were daffodils and carnations, sunflowers twice his height and every colour rose imaginable. There were even hybrid roses that existed in many colours simultaneously, and roses charmed to change colour intermittently. He described them all to her, she seemed very elated to know there were sunflowers here, as he wheeled her next to a few benches near to some rainbow coloured roses and took a seat next to here.

He picked one of the roses and held it out to her. He told her it was a deep red one as she brushed the petals with her fingers. The faint yellow pollen stuck to the tips of her fingers. She petted the rose as her head moved back and forth following her nose. They sat there in silence just enjoying the tranquillity of the garden. But her smile soon fell and her bandage started to dampen.

When he noticed her mood change, he spoke to her softly, surprising even himself when he grabbed the hand that was brushing the rose. "Granger, what happened to you?"

She sniffled but remained silent. She was not ready to share that with him. What did he expect? They weren't really on trusting terms. Did he want to be? He looked at her face and then ran his thumb over her knuckles. He knew he did. He couldn't stand to see her so weak, so down. He was used to strong Granger and he didn't want something like this to destroy her. And also she was currently his only 'friend'. It would be nice to have someone trust him.

"Granger?" he repeated, his thumb still hovering above her fingers.

She sniffled again and then, "I- I- I'm not completely sure. I was walking on Diagon Alley and then I woke up in the hospital in the dark."

Draco nodded but then remembered she wouldn't know so he said, "I see. I can't imagine how that must be."

She croaked out, "It's torture, Malfoy. Right now I'm surrounded by all this beauty. I can tell by the smell, the flowers and the bakery, which now smells like cookies. I can feel it in this rose, the air, the light breeze and the warm sun. I can hear the soft sound of the walking on the street below. But I can't see anything! At all! A big part of my everything is just gone. It won't come back. It's just gone. I don't know how to do anything without my sight. I can't dress myself, I can't read, I can't even tell when you're smiling versus smirking."

Draco chuckled, "I'll just have to say it then. By the say, I'm smirking now."

Granger let out a small laugh, "And I just have to trust now that you're not lying about that." Her smile was directed at him and he felt warm inside. She would trust him.

Draco held her hand tightly, "I wouldn't lie about something like that. I may be lying though if I tell you your hair looks fine this morning."

She grabbed at her hair, her hand leaving his own and clutched her hair. Patting it down, she looked over at him, "I guess I'll have to ask Healer Samuel to help me out there." She sighed beside him and leant back in the chair, "It will just take a lot of getting used to and a lot of learning."

He scoffed, "When has learning ever been a problem for know-it-all Granger?"

She turned to him with a frown but there was a slight quivering of her lips. She slapped him playfully before petting the rose petals again. Taking one last deep breath, she turned to Draco, "I'm ready to go back inside now."

He silently wheeled her back through the balcony doors and they made their way to her room. He lifted her into her bed in a sitting position.

Granger said, "What are you gonna do now?"

Draco looked at the watch on his wrist, an expensive birthday gift from his beloved dad. "It's lunchtime now so I have to go deliver everyone's lunches."

Draco looked up at her and he saw her cheeks flush. She quickly asked, "Do you want to have lunch with me?"

Her face got even redder. Draco was shocked but he couldn't help the smile on his face. "Sure thing Granger."

He pushed the wheelchair towards the door and opened it. Before he left, he said to her, "By the way, I'm smiling."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Harry and Ron begin their investigation and Hermione is finally able to get out of the hospital. Read and Review._

_I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

"The witness said they found Hermione in this alley before they brought her to St. Mungos." Harry said with his head down in the case file.

Ron walked around Harry as he scanned the alley and the cobblestone ground. This alley was less used and so the street was more dirt path than cobblestone. He looked back out to the crowded streets the alley connected.

"If someone saw him from either entrance, he could have easily escaped. It was dark so it would be hard to have recognized him," Ron said.

"So, low chance of any face witnesses," Harry said scowling. They weren't making much progress. They had done a preliminary magic detection spell but the magnitude was so low, it was inconclusive. After a week, any traces of magic used here had already disappeared.

Harry walked up to Ron and then a glint of silver caught his eye. Harry ran up to a nearby dumpster and bent down. Ron ran up behind him as Harry stuck his hand underneath. When he withdrew, he was clutching a small knife. The leather on its handle was worn and the blade had a chip near the base but what was promising was the dried blood along its edge.

* * *

Healer Headley stood in front Hermione as she sat up in the bed. Her wand moved over Hermione's body as a quill hovered by her shoulder making notes. Hermione hummed as she waited for her checkup to be over.

Healer Headley tutted before stowing her wand away. She grabbed the quill and parchment out of the hair and read over her notes. "Ms Granger, your nerves have shown great improvement. You can walk on them once again but do not over exert yourself. It will definitely take some time for them to completely heal.

Now, we're going to talk about your release. As of today, you are free to leave the hospital if you so desire, but you must attend some therapy sessions with our healers. They will help you to get adjusted to being blind mentally and physically. And they will go on until you think you're ready to go without them."

Hermione's eyes widened behind her bandage and she fingered the end of her hospital gown. She was so preoccupied on just getting out of this place that she didn't think about how she'd get around afterwards. It would definitely take longer if she were to try on her own.

"Will the sessions start today?" Hermione asked.

Healer Headley replied, "Yes, you have one scheduled today to help you with getting around on your own. Someone will come to your room at that time."

Hermione smiled, "Thank you, Healer Headley."

Healer Headley nodded, not that Hermione saw, but then continued, "Who should I call to release you?"

Hermione said, "Please can you call Mrs. Weasley and Harry Potter? They'd be the first persons who'd want to see me."

Hermione heard Healer Headley's soft shoes on the tile floor of her room move towards the door and then the door open and close. Hermione lay back down. She would be out of here soon.

The door opened some time later with a loud chorus of "Hermione!" before she was enveloped in one of the famous Weasley group hugs. She smiled as they engulfed her before she screamed jokingly, "Ok, ok! You're going to crush me."

Everyone laughed but stepped back from her.

Mrs Weasley said, "So happy to hear that you can come home now. We've set up a place for you at the Burrow until you can get back on your feet."

Hermione smiled towards her voice. "Thank you so much Mrs Weasley. I'll just have to get some things from my flat first."

George spoke up, "And I have a new product to show you."

Mrs Weasley tutted 'George, she doesn't want to see that now.' but George still stepped forward. George gently took her hands and then placed a bunch of tips on each of her fingers. Then he said, "Touch something."

Hermione touched her hospital gown and strange shock ran through her middle finger. She jumped and then frowned, "George, what are these? Some type of joy shocker?"

He chuckled and, ignoring her questions, said, "Touch something else."

She did and then a feel of cool water travelled through her fourth finger. She was still confused. George seemed to be finding her expression amusing. He clarified, "Each feeling and finger corresponds to a different colour. I thought that since you can't see colours then I'd make a way for you to feel them."

Hermione couldn't even find the words. She couldn't believe how amazing and wonderful this man was. She reached out towards him and wrapped her arms around his chest. Her finger tips skimmed his shirt and she felt a hot feeling in her right thumb and tingling in her pinkies.

She gave him a kiss on his cheek and said sincerely, "This is the best thing I've ever gotten, George."

He kissed her temple, "You're most welcome, Hermione. I'll help you match the different feelings with the colours when you come by the Burrow."

She smiled and then felt the hot feeling in her thumb again. "George, what colour are you wearing?"

George smiled. She felt his head move down and then up, "Purple."

Hermione laughed, "So purple is heat in right thumb and tingling pinkies. Gotcha."

Everyone laughed and Hermione heard Ginny say, "That's so cool, George. I want one."

George's head turned around and he said, "Only one of its kind Gin."

George stepped away and Hermione asked, "Are Harry and Ron here?"

Ginny spoke up, "No, they're training today. But they'll be at the Burrow tonight waiting for you."

Hermione smiled, "I've really missed you guys. Thanks for being here for me."

Mrs Weasley came forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Anything for a daughter of mine. You don't even have to thank me."

They moved towards the door and said, "We'll be back for you after your session."

Hermione ran her fingers on everything she could reach and marvelled at the sensations. Oh how she loved George and his incredible mind.

* * *

"So Granger, I hear they're busting you out today."

Hermione smiled as she munched on the apple Draco had brought with her lunch. He was sitting across from her eating his own apple. "Yes, I'll be out of here this evening."

There was loud crunch before Draco said, "This will make my time here considerably less pleasant."

Hermione mocked, "Is someone going to miss me, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked, "Like a case of Dragon Pox."

They sat in silence, just them and their apples, before she said, "I'll miss you too."

He reached across and touched her arm. He said soothingly, "Don't worry. I'll find you whenever you come by again. It won't be hard with that bird's nest you call hair."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and he just laughed back. He could honestly say he would miss her. He would miss her quick wit and the way she crinkled her nose whenever he made a snide comment she wanted to pretend didn't faze her. He would miss her bright smile and how easy it was to just talk to her. His time here would definitely be worse without her.

Then he remembered. He reached to the counter behind him. "Hey, I got you something."

He saw her eyebrows raise above her bandage. He smiled and placed the object in her hand. He saw her run her fingers along the edges and the front.

"You got me a pair of glasses?" she asked wonderingly.

"Yes, so you can take off that horrible bandage. I think it's making your hair even bushier. I'm surprised it hasn't been swallowed up yet."

She moved her hand to push him but he leaned back so she just pushed at air. He laughed out loud causing her to blush. He got up and moved closer. She seemed to know when he was within reach as she slapped at his arm playfully and he laughed again. It was so easy to laugh around her.

He went to touch her head but she ducked under his arm giggling. "Hold still, Granger. I'm trying to help you."

She giggled again but didn't move this time. He moved again and grabbed her bandage and carefully unwound it from her head. Her grey eyes stared at him vacantly and he jumped back startled. He saw her frown and she shrunk away from him.

"I know they look bad," she whispered, shutting her eyes and covering them with her hands.

He pulled down her hands and turned her face up to him. Her eyes remained tightly shut. "Hey," he said soothingly, "now I didn't say that. I was just taken aback. Show me them again."

Her eyelids opened slowly and he studied them. They were glazed over, a silver sheen over her brown irises, and her pupils were opened wide. He swayed slightly before her but her eyes didn't follow though he knew she was focused on him. "I never seen anything like this before."

He could tell she was unsure what to think of his statement as her face shifted between many expressions. To comfort her, he said, "They're fine. I'm not lying, so stop worrying."

He stepped back and took the glasses from her lap. Placing them on her face he said, "You can go with or without the glasses. But I spent a lot of money on those so don't let them go to waste."

She gave him a small smile before running her fingers along the frame. "What colour are they?" she asked.

He grinned, "Green, of course."

* * *

"Ok, Ms Granger. For now, I'm going to give you this muggle cane. Blind muggles use this to sense and avoid the objects around them. They wave in their path so they can feel what's in front of them."

Hermione felt the metal stick he handed to her. She felt the strange feelings through her fingers as the tips registered its colour. She really had to ask George for a manual for these things.

Healer Williams helped her out of her seat and held her hand as they moved around his small office. She stumbled slightly as they walked by his desk but he quickly steadied her. She tapped against the couch in his office and the vase by his door before she reach back to his desk.

"Excellent, Ms Granger. You learn quickly. Now try on your own." He let her go around the room once more and she started out slowly, trying to remember where everything was. She was almost back to the desk when her foot lightly touched the vase and she stumbled forward. He reached out for her and grabbed her before she fell to the floor.

"That will happen sometimes. Just take things slowly at first."

They continued practicing and eventually moved out of Healer Williams's small office and into the hallway. This hallway was less crowded and gave Hermione a new challenge with different obstacles and surfaces to avoid.

After the session, Healer Samuel came back for Hermione. Healer Williams handed her the cane and told her to get more practice at home but to ensure someone was around to help her while she was still learning. Soon, she would be able to walk on her own.

As she was being wheeled back to her room, she couldn't help but feel accomplished. She had made so much progress in just that two hour session and she felt hopeful about her future. She would not let losing her sight defeat her. She was Hermione Granger and she would be even greater than before.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Hermione has left the hospital. She couldn't stay there for the entire six months. There will still be enough Draco/Hermione moments to come, but this is just Hermione getting settled in at the Burrow._

_Read and Review. I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

The Weasleys and Hermione fell out of the fireplace and into the living room. Mrs Weasley had bustled straight towards the kitchen and entrusted George and Ginny to get Hermione settled. Hermione pulled out her cane and made her way towards where she knew the stairs was but Ginny's quick steps behind her told her she probably almost walked into a wall. Blushing, she grabbed Ginny's arm and they all headed up the stairs. That was easier said than done and she would have surely fallen if it weren't George behind them with her bag.

Once in Ginny's room, Ginny led her to her bed and she fell back with a sigh. "I'm finally home."

She felt the bed lower has someone sat beside her. She sat up and the person grabbed her hands. Soft but small callouses on her palms. Ginny.

She heard George's strong voice near the end of the bed and something fell on her bed. "It's all here in your bag, Hermione, and your wand." he said.

She turned to him and said, "Thanks, George. I'll need more things though if I'm staying here for a long time. That was just what I threw in for about two weeks."

"Just tell me what you want from your flat and me, Harry and Ron can go for it tomorrow."

Hermione looked down at her hands which were in Ginny's. "They aren't here yet?"

Ginny spoke softly, "Not yet. Ron owled and said they'd be in after dinner."

Hermione gave her a sad smile. "Ok then. Is it dinner time now? I'm getting a bit hungry."

Ginny got up and led Hermione into George's arms. "Sure. I'll head down and help mum get the table ready. George can help you back down."

Hermione heard Ginny's light footfalls move away from them. Hermione extended her cane and held onto George's offered arm. "So Hermione, how long do you have to use that thing?"

She smiled at him while she waved the cane in front of them. He was a gracious guide and moved as slow she wanted, only stopping when she would fall or walk into something else. "Until I can get around on my own without help, which is hopefully soon."

He feigned hurt, "That quick to get rid of me?"

She giggled and turned her head up to him. She tipped on her toes and he leaned down. With a quick kiss on his cheek, she said, "Never get rid of you George. Just so I can go back to chasing you around again."

He chuckled, "I'd never run from you, Hermione."

They had just descended the finally step when she heard two male voices go, "Mione!" She was pulled into a strong hug by her two favourite boys in the world.

"I thought you weren't coming til later," she said, hugging each individually.

"We were able to cop out early and give Diggs our work to finish," Ron said. She could imagine the smirk on his face and she wished she could actually see it.

"How have you been, Hermione? Sorry we haven't seen you in awhile." Harry said.

She smiled at each, now was not the time for sadness, "I'm ok. I understand you guys are busy, being Aurors and all."

Ron led her to her seat at the table and he and Harry took a seat on either side of her. Mrs Weasley, George and Ginny sat across from the trio. 'Your father will be working late tonight.' Mrs Weasley answered the unasked question.

Harry leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Hermione we have some news for you after dinner."

Hermione nodded, nibbling on her greens. She was just happy to be in the company of the people she loved.

* * *

The three of them and Ginny were now in the Ron's room. Harry had led her up the stairs and she had told them about her session earlier with Healer Williams. She showed them her cane and Ron had stolen it and started waving it around the room, and from the sound, had whacked the back of Harry's head. He sheepishly gave it back to her, 'takes a bit a practice'.

She told them about George's gift to her while waggling her fingers in their faces. Harry and Ron looked on in amazement while Ginny still insisted she'd get George to make her a pair too. She explained all the sensations as well as she could from what George had told her when the Weasleys had picked her up from the hospital. She ran her hands up and down Harry and Ron's clothes and correctly named their colours, only getting a few mixed up.

"I'm just so glad to be back with you guys," she sighed and leaned against Ron. It felt just like old times and this was what she needed, a sense of normalcy. She still hadn't told them about her new friendship with Malfoy. Harry and Ginny would understand, with time, but Ron would definitely fly off the handle and she didn't want to break up her happy moment.

"So Hermione, me and Ron got your case file from the Auror office and did a bit of digging on our own." Harry said.

"They found you in an alley off Diagon Alley. You were alone and your wand was found further down the alley. You were bleeding a lot and barely conscious. You couldn't stand but you kept mumbling and pulling yourself on the floor," Ron said quietly while holding her hand.

She could feel the tears on her cheeks. She had been left for dead, barely coherent. She was lucky to have been found. She nodded for him to continue.

"We went back to where they found you and looked around for ourselves, in case anything was overlooked."

Harry picked up, "At first, everything looked normal. There was nothing to say you had been there, no stains or traces of magic. This was days after though so we knew chances were slim. But then I noticed something shiny."

There was shuffling to her left and then Harry put something in her hands. She ran her hands over it and there was a strange mixture of sensations in her fingers. There was a buzz on all her fingers but the feelings weren't clear, almost blurred.

"We found what we think is a knife he used on you. It's in a evidence bag now but we'll take it in tomorrow and do some tests when we can get some time in the lab unsupervised." He took the bag back and stowed it away.

Ron squeezed her hand and said softly, "We're getting closer, Mione. Soon we'll be able to catch whoever did this to you. And hopefully, we'll help you to see again."

She turned towards him and found his cheek. "Thank you, Ron." She reached out her other hand towards where Harry was sitting. His warm, firm hand found hers and he ran his thumb over her knuckles. She felt Ginny's smaller hand on top of theirs and she smiled. "Thank you all."


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Hermione's next lesson and she gets to meet Malfoy today. More fluff I guess. I'll make it more juicy in the next chapter. And then George's next brilliant idea._

_Read and Review. I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Hermione was walking through the bustling hospital lobby with Ginny at her side. She had gotten used to places that didn't smell so sterile that the once familiar antiseptic smell of the place stung Hermione's nose.

Ginny was a horrible guide though. Hermione was constantly stumbling into people and her toes had been thoroughly trampled. She was very vocal about Ginny's lack of assistance but Ginny just shrugged sheepishly. She kept forgetting that Hermione couldn't actually see the large stretcher parting the crowd of rushing healers.

They finally ended up outside Healer Williams office and Hermione was more than happy to be left on her own. Ginny said she'd come find her in two hours. Hermione just nodded and pushed open the door, waving in what she thought was Ginny's general direction over her shoulder.

"Ah, Ms Granger. I see you're getting better with that cane. Please have a seat."

Healer Williams made no move to help her and Hermione smiled shyly. She could do this. She waved the cane before while she cautiously crosses the room. She hit on something solid but slight squishy, then stepped forward and clasped it. The chair! Hermione quickly moved around and sat, quite proud of herself. This morning at the Burrow had been much worse.

"So, Ms Granger. Today, we are going to do more walking exercises as well as hand exercises. We sense where our feet go, but also we need to sense where out hands go. So, we'll practice sensing and feeling out objects on a desk or counter."

And again, the session began. Hermione was now walking like a pro but still had problems with moving obstacles such as people, but she knew that would come with time. Then they moved to the hand movements. Healer Williams placed a bunch of objects on his desk without telling Hermione what they were. She swiped her hands quickly in front of her and promptly spilt Healer Williams water glass and soaking his files. One drying spell and a blushing Hermione later, Hermione was moving her hand cautiously around each object, analyzing its height, weight, texture and shape. She correctly named 3 out of the 7 objects right.

"Try with some objects at home to learn different types of objects, shapes and textures. With our sight, these things are usually taken for granted until we realize just how important they are."

The session was over and Healer Williams paged the front desk to ask if Ginny had returned. When they heard she wasn't, Hermione asked if she could be wheeled to the lobby to wait. Hermione was kind of exhausted from the session and feared she couldn't make it there on her own yet. Healer Samuel was paged and Hermione was whisked away.

Hermione sat in the lobby and opened her ears. There were so many different sounds here: gurgling, burping, bubbling, footsteps, clapping, whistles, shouting. She was having a hard time deciphering them all but also having fun guessing what was the source of each sound.

Then one sound cut above the others, "Granger!"

Hermione turned her head towards her name and sharp footsteps drew closer. A smile graced her features, "Malfoy."

She felt someone drop into the chair beside her. "How was your session today?"

"Wonderful but tiring." And she explained all she had done today, him listening intently to her words. It was nice to have someone to share this with that didn't seem bored to listen.

"Now all I want to do is rest," she said while throwing her head back in her chair. The chair rocked slightly from the movement and Malfoy steadied it for her. "What have you been up to today?"

There was a low grunt and then, "Cleaning chamber pots."

Hermione burst out laughing, "What? Don't they have someone else to do that?"

"Today, that someone is me. At least I can use magic but there's just so many. Some of them seem to have never been cleaned in years. It's horrible and smells like shit."

Hermione giggled, "Literally."

Malfoy said, "Literally. Smirking."

Then she laughed again. "So happy I don't have your job."

They were silent for awhile, Hermione just happy and content, when Malfoy said, "I see you're wearing my glasses. They look nice."

Hermione smirked and said, "I have been getting a few compliments and it goes with my outfit today." She had decided on wearing a green blouse today, specifically to match the glasses.

Malfoy said softly, "I should get you more glasses then."

Hermione patted his hand and said, "Oh, you don't have to. I-"

"Hermione!" A girl's voice cut through the sound of the hospital that Hermione had previously tuned out.

Footsteps stopped before her and Malfoy's hand seemed to tense in her own. "Weasley" he said while shrugging out of Hermione's grasp.

Ginny's tone was sharp, "Malfoy. Hermione, let's go."

Ginny wasted no time in pulling Hermione out of her chair. Hermione almost stumbled but Ginny's hold was firm. Then Ginny was pulling her into the crowd and away from Malfoy. She heard a soft "Bye, Granger." before she was swallowed by the sounds.

* * *

"Malfoy!" Ginny shouted for the fourth time since they had gotten back to her bedroom. Hermione had one hand over her eyes as she lay back on her bed. She just wanted to sleep but Ginny was demanding an answer before she left Hermione alone.

"Yes, Malfoy," Hermione said deadpanned and obviously annoyed with the red-haired girl.

"Malfoy! The Death-Eater! The-"

"Past death-eater doing community service," Hermione corrected.

"Oh, because community service can bring back the dead, Hermione." Ginny said with dark humour.

"Never said it could, Ginny." Hermione said, moving her arm slightly out of her face. She could hear Ginny moving about the room. Her footsteps sounded agitated and heavy.

"Why would you talk to someone like him if you could avoid it?" Ginny said exasperatedly.

"He's actually not that bad, Gin." Hermione said. "He likes reading and poetry."

"Death Eater Book Club?" Ginny interjected.

"Ha no. And he's actually funny, quick witted. You'd probably like that about him."

Ginny gave a humourless laugh, "As much as a cold shower in January."

Hermione chuckled, "Just like that. All I'm saying is that I've looked past it and he's ok."

Ginny sighed and then sat near Hermione's legs. She held onto Hermione's calf and said, "I don't like it but I trust you know what you're doing."

Hermione said, "You took that better than I thought. Now to find out a way to break it the boys without setting the house on fire."

Ginny chuckled, "I'll keep a bucket of water handy. For now, I'll leave you to nap. Later, Hermione."

Hermione answered with a yawn before heading to dreamland.

* * *

There was a knock on the door, rousing Hermione from her sleep. She muttered groggily, wondering why it was so dark, before she mentally slapped herself. Duh! Still not fully used to that. "Come in!"

The door opened and two heavy bodies sat at the end of her bed. The people smelt like sweat and faint cologne. "Harry? Ron?"

"What about me?" a deep voice said to her right. There was squeaking from Ginny's bed.

"George?"

"The one and only," the voice said again.

Hermione would have smiled at them all but she was still so tired. She yawned and stretched before asking, "What are all three of you doing here?"

"Well..." Ron started.

"We were talking to George and he had a brilliant idea," Harry said.

Hermione turned her head towards George on Ginny's bed. "What was George's newest brilliant idea?"

"Oh Hermione, you flatter me," George said. He moved closer to her bed and sat on the floor by her hand. He grabbed it, squeezing it firmly in his hand before saying, "You may not remember how were attacked, but that doesn't mean the memory could not be in there." He touched her temple.

"It's possible but I was blinded. I wouldn't have seen anything," Hermione said, pondering the idea.

"True, but it would be an audio memory not a visual one. It might help identify a voice or something, something that we can place with the events that happened that night."

Hermione had to say that she was impressed. She never thought about it but something like this could be very possible.

She lunged outwards and threw her arms around George's neck. "That is a brilliant idea!" Then she looked towards Harry and Ron. "When can we start it?"

Harry shifted and then said, "Hold still and I can extract the memory. I'll take it into the office tomorrow. Hopefully sneak George in as well. We'll need all the brains we can get."

"Count me in for some sneaking." She could feel George's mouth move against her cheek as he grinned. His grin was infectious and her mouth soon moved too.

She released George and then shifted down the bed closer to Harry. She felt the cool tip of his wand against her temple and then a strange feeling like droplets of water moving not on her forehead but under her forehead. It was gone as soon as she noticed it and then she heard the stoppering of a vial. "Done."

Hermione smiled again. More progress. She was just about to say something when Ron's stomach grumbled.

George laughed and said, "By Ron's stomach, it's diner time."

Ron laughed and said, "More accurate than any clock."

George stood up and then held out his arm to Hermione while the other boys rose and waited by the door. She picked up her cane off the bedside table, extended it in front her and said, "Onwards to vittles."

All boys hooted and then they left the room, Harry and Ron in front, Hermione and George behind. Hermione tipped on her toes and whispered into George's ear, "You're a much better guide than Ginny."


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: So in this chapter, Hermione doesn't physically see Draco. I really wanted the boys to make progress on Hermione's case and find her attacker so sorry for the lack of romance and D/Hr but it just didn't fit in. I'll release the next chapter soon and that one will definitely have D/Hr. But for now, enjoy this one. Read, favourite, follow and review._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She was finally starting to get used to her situation and she was very happy she was getting closer to finding out her attacker, no matter how slow progress was. She didn't know if her sight would ever come back but she pushed those depressing thoughts out of her head before they ruined her good day.

She swung her legs over her bed at the Burrow. She could hear Ginny's loud snoring in the bed across from her. A small smile came on her face. Ginny was definitely a tomboy at heart.

Hermione's bladder was uncomfortably full so she reached around for her cane. It seemed to be out of her reach as she patted her bedsheets, under her bed and the small table between her and Ginny's bed but didn't find it. The pressure was building and Hermione felt like she couldn't hold it. She shakily stood up and held her hands out in front of her. She could make it to the bathroom on her own. She had done it a million times since she first came to the Burrow years ago.

She imagined the route easily in her mind and mapped her route as she took each step. She almost tumbled over Ginny's misplaced broom as she reached out for the doorknob. She chuckled lightly to herself and proud of her small achievement. She kept her hand along the wall, fingering the familiar wall ornaments as she walked along the landing towards the bathroom. She pushed open the door at the end of the hall and identified the familiar smell of lavender from the disinfectant Mrs Weasley always used when she spelled the room clean.

She did her business and then walked back out onto the landing. There was a lot of thumping on her left and Hermione froze. She was somewhere near Ron's room based on her mental map. The sounds got closer and louder and she anticipated the new arrival. However, she didn't anticipate they would run right into her as she stood precariously at the top of the stairs. The pair tumbled down, Hermione's body painfully bouncing like a ragdoll, until they landed in a heap at the foot of the steps.

Hermione's head spun as her muscles ached under the weight of another person. Spasms were sent from her ankle as the person shifted off her. She screamed out in pain, not hearing more feet coming down the stairs towards her. Strong arms encircled her and carried over to the couch in the living room.

"Ron! What did you do?" Mrs Weasley screamed. Her voice trailed away and Hermione could hear cupboards opening in the kitchen. Her ankle was propped up along the couch and she reached down to rub it. She hissed when her fingers ran along it causing another wave of shocks. She could feel it already swelling under her fingers.

"I'm so sorry Hermione. I didn't know you were there." Ron said, grabbing Hermione's hand away from her ankle.

"I know, Ron. It's alright." Hermione said, throwing her head back on the arm of the couch as she tried to ignore the pain.

Suddenly, there was something cool on her leg and the painful shocks began to subside. She sighed in relief and closed her eyes.

"Is anywhere else hurting?" Ginny asked, her voice concerned but still heavy from sleep.

Hermione stretched all her limbs experimentally before answering, "My muscles are just banged up but my head is hurting right here," and pointed to the back of her head.

"Here, Ron. You can hold this against Hermione's head," Mrs Weasley scolded. Then the same cool feeling on her ankle was on her head. Hermione sighed again.

"Anything else I can do to help, Hermione?" Harry said from somewhere above her head.

Hermione's stomach growled softly and she blushed. "If you could bring me some breakfast?" Hermione asked.

Soon Ron, Harry and Ginny were having breakfast in the living room around Hermione on the couch. Once they were finished, Hermione felt the now warm object leave her ankle.

"It's going down but you won't be walking on it today. Do you want to go back upstairs?" Harry asked.

"I want to spend the day outside today, but I need to get dressed," Hermione replied.

Hermione spent the morning outside under a big tree with her ankle on one of the couch cushions while her friends milled around her. George had even stopped by to check on her before his day with Harry and Ron. Soon Harry, Ron and Ginny went off to play a small game of Quidditch above her. Hermione told George that he could go but he wanted to stay with her. He narrated the game play by play as they sat in the shade.

George suddenly stopped talking and Hermione felt something land on her lap and a soft rustling of feathers. She ran her fingers over the small box wrapped in brown paper.

"Who's it from?" she asked George.

He lifted the box from her lap and moved it around. "No name," George murmured.

"Open it," Hermione said, excited to get mail.

There was ripping of paper and then George started reading, _"You missed your therapy session this morning. It will be rescheduled for tomorrow at 10. PS. I hope you like silver."_

She then felt George reach over and pull the glasses on her face off and put on another pair. Hermione ran her hand over the silver-framed glasses. They seemed to have a more attractive shape than the one she had before.

"Should I ask?" George said chuckling.

Hermione blushed and said, "You might not want to."

George shrugged beside her and then rested his head on her lap. "Then you'll tell me when you're ready. I won't push you. They look nice by the way."

Hermione smiled and brushed George's hair, "Well, the person has good taste."

* * *

George walked behind Harry and Ron as they walked among the Auror cubicles. "This isn't that hard to sneak into, Harry. I was hoping for more of a challenge," George grinned as he watched the chaos of the floor and the millions of paper airplanes zooming above. No one was taking any notice of the strange tall red-head walking with the trainee Aurors.

"This isn't the hard part, George. We have to break into the Pensieve room because we're not supposed to use them without written permission from a supervisor," Harry spoke over his shoulder as he waved to a coworker sitting as his desk.

George jiggled his pocket, "That's more I like it."

They stood a few feet away from the Pensieve room eyeing the small clerk sitting beside the door. He took his job a bit too seriously as he constantly shifted and sorted his papers from the left to the right of his desk and back.

George calmly walked past the man, who eyed him suspiciously. George grinned before dipping into his pocket before throwing a small ball a few feet away from them. A large fireworks exhibition erupted among the cubicles. Everyone was drawn towards the sights or running around in panic, including the clerk. He handed Harry and Ron a small blue cube each while palming his own.

George turned to Harry and Ron. "We have 15 minutes. There's a special spell to get rid of them and people are magnetically drawn to them unless they have these cubes."

Ron grinned as Harry leaned over the clerk's desk and pushed a button allowing them to enter the room.

The room was dark, only lit by the ghostly green glow from the three Pensieves in the room. The walls were lined with glass bottles, some the size of test tubes and others the size of a bell jar, each swirling with grey smoke. Luckily no one else was using the room at the time. Harry, Ron and George walked up to the nearest Pensieve and poured in Hermione's memory. They looked at each other before dipping their heads in.

They all fell onto Diagon Alley. They saw the crowd of people walking up and down the alley as Hermione walked away from a pretzel cart with her gooey cinnamon bun. They followed her as she walked and they noticed a figure standing in the alley on her left. They tried to get a good look at him but his face was blurred.

"Damn! Hermione didn't get a good look at him, so his features aren't focused." Harry said, slapping his forehead.

George leaned over, "At least we know he's broad shouldered with dark hair," pointing at the blur.

They saw the blur raise its wand towards Hermione. The words from his mouth were muffled and hoarse, George strained to hear them properly but it sounded like "_**Caeca dolor"**_ He turned quickly when he saw Hermione crumple to the floor hitting her head before everything disappeared.

"It's dark here," Ron stated obviously.

"Is the memory over?" George asked, as he moved around in the darkness. It was disorienting and he felt he could walk forever. Was this anything like what Hermione felt? Well he knew, she could bump into things, but there was nothing here.

"No, if the memory was over, we'd be back in the Pensieve room," Harry said, his voice coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

There was a sound like dragging and the sound of the street was getting softer. The dragging stopped and the boys could hear footsteps moving a bit away before a voice spoke gravely, 'How great is the mudblood saviour of the world now,' before the darkness was filled with screams.

The boys clamped their hands over their ears, wishing that the screams weren't linked to Hermione being tortured. The man uttered the curse two more times, Hermione's screams becoming rawer as they came before they faded away.

The feet came closer and they could hear the man grunting with effort as he stomped on Hermione, the sound of his shoes hitting flesh and bone. Since they heard no screaming, then Hermione must have passed out, but her mind still registering the sounds around her.

The man said the curse again and the screaming started again. The boys didn't know how much they could take anymore. Soon the screams stopped and then the sound of dragging again. Hermione's soft gasps and grunts filled the air and the footsteps came closer. She must have dragged herself some distance away from the man but he was over her again. He chuckled, 'Oh my dear, don't run from me. Don't waste your energy. You won't get too far."

There was a short pause, then the man continued threatening her. There was a long slurping noise and deep breaths, causing Ron to let out a disgusted sound. Then the man mentioned ending it quickly.

There was a new voice though, "Oi! Who goes there!" A metal sound was heard as the man ran and a new pair of footsteps came forward. "Oh god," the new man said softly, before they were ejected from the memory.

The boys stood around the green swirling contents of the Pensieve.

"Have you ever heard that spell?" George asked the other boys.

"Must be an old one. We'd have to do some research or ask Hermione," Harry said.

"Do you still have the knife?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry pulled it out of his pocket. "I meant to go get it tested but could never find a time when the lab was empty."

George nodded, "Well, that's what we have to do next. Now we know a bit about the attacker's appearance. And he ran because someone saw him."

"That was the witness in the case file, but he said it was dark and he didn't see much," Harry said dejectedly.

"It couldn't hurt to ask him ourselves," George said with a shrug.

"Where would we even find him?" Ron asked.

"We'll think about that tomorrow," Harry said before turning to George with a grin, "Wanna help us get into the lab?"

George fiddled with his pocket again, "Of course."

* * *

It was dinner time at the Burrow. Harry and Ron had gone to the Ministry with George and Hermione hoped they would return with good news. She and Ginny sat at the dining table with her ankle propped up on the cushion under the table.

"I thought they'd be home by now. I don't want to start without them," Mrs Weasley tutted as she placed the dishes on the table.

Ginny started, "Well Mom, you know they wouldn't wait on-", there was a swat and Ginny's soft ow! Hermione just giggled and sat with her hands in her lap. She didn't want Mrs Weasley's towel turn on her.

The fireplace roared and four pairs of feet entered the dining room. Hermione could feel as four chairs around her filled.

"You can all begin!" George announced as he spread his arms wide across the table.

"I'm supposed to say that, George," Mr Weasley playfully scolded.

Hermione began to fill her own plate and asked, "Any news?"

"Later," Harry whispered before engaging Mr Weasley, Ron and George in conversation.

* * *

They were all in Harry and Ron's room this time. Hermione was placed gingerly on Harry's bed, the cleaner of the two, while everyone else crowded around. The boys filled the girls in on their discovery and then the news of the knife.

"George got us into the lab afterwards and we ran just a few quick tests on it, given the short time we were able to stay in there. We now have his genetic profile, so he can be identified, but there was no match in the Auror files. He's never been apprehended for anything else or had a reason to be sampled. So for now, that path has stalled but it does mean if we have any suspects, we have something to compare it to."

Hermione smiled at them sadly, finally knowing what happened to her that she couldn't remember on her own. There had a been a few tears during their story but they had dried up now.

"We'll catch him, Hermione." The boys said together.

"I know you will."


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Hermione's back at St. Mungo's for her next therapy session and guess who comes to greet her. :D. Now we see some Dramione and Hermione realizing her feelings. Read and Review._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Ginny tugged Hermione towards the reception desk of St. Mungo's. After notifying the receptionist, Ginny turned to Hermione and said "I can't stay with you today or come back for you. I have an all day Quidditch practice. Just come to the reception desk and they'll tell Mum to come for you."

Hermione nodded before Ginny led her to sit in the lobby. And Hermione sat bored out of her mind. There wasn't much to do except just occupy her thoughts.

"Hello Granger. Where were you yesterday?"

Her head turned to the direction of the voice. "Malfoy?" She reached out to find he was standing on right, her hand hitting into his side. She breathe in deeply and could faintly smell his cologne. He made no reply but grabbed her hand and squeezed it slightly. She turned her head up and said, "I sprained my ankle yesterday and decided to stay off it. But it's alright now."

He chuckled, "I'd hate to think that a simple sprained ankle would ground the mighty Granger."

"I can only imagine how wide your smirk must be right now." she drawled.

"Well you could just feel for yourself?"

"What?" Before she knew it, he took her hand which was still in his and crouched down beside her, tracing her fingers along his face. His smooth skin moved under her fingers, teasing the edges of his lips. He held the smirk for as long as he could but she could feel the corner of his mouth quiver under her touch. His light breathing through his nose tickled her fingers and she had to resist flinching. She didn't notice when he let go of her hand and she moving it of her own accord. Over his lips, his cheeks, towards his jaw which she felt was just recently shaven, up towards his eyes and brow, his lids shut under her ministrations.

She heard a low groan and that's when she pulled back, her face a million shades of red. She had never been able to get that close to him before and she felt compelled to feel out his face, learn every part of it. It was just mesmerizing and she forgot where she was for a moment. But now the moment was broken.

He cleared his throat before she felt him right himself. "Ready to go?"

"Huh?"

"So out of it today. I'm wheeling you today. I'm wheeling everyone today." He pulled her up gently by her arm before depositing her into a wheelchair she never noticed before. "We are heading to your counselling session today."

Hermione frowned. "Counselling? For what?"

"I don't make the rules, Granger. And they wouldn't tell me."

They glided through the lobby, the awkwardness between them easing as Malfoy told her about the horrible old hag in room 45 who dumped her oatmeal on the floor purposely, causing him to slide. She laughed at the mental image, prompting him to jerk the wheelchair to a stop and her to almost topple over. After he got a good laugh, they went back to just chatting.

Soon, they came to a stop and Malfoy said, "Here we are. I'll be back in an hour to take you to the lobby." He helped her up before knocking on the door. He squeezed her hand before walking off with the wheelchair.

"Why hello Hermione," a serene voice said before tugging Hermione through the door. The air is warmer and the smell of jasmine overcomes her senses. The woman's hand was still on her wrist as she pulled Hermione into a comfy armchair.

"Hello?" Hermione said cautiously. Should she know her? She greeted her so warmly and her voice sounded familiar.

"Oh I'm sorry, silly me, I forgot. I'm Luna."

"Luna!" Hermione said excitedly, reaching her hands out towards her voice before Luna grabs them. "What are you doing here?"

"I just finished my training to become a therapist. I specialized in psychiatry and psycology. For this session, I'm just your counsellor."

Hermione smiled before leaning back into her chair, "That sounds amazing, Luna. Congratulations."

Hermione heard the shuffling of papers before Luna spoke again, "Today we are going to talk about you. How your adjusting, your physical, emotional and mental state. You were pretty banged up when you first came to the hospital. Do you know what happened?"

Hermione relayed all that happened to her over the last week: waking up in the hospital, the fear and sadness she felt when she realized she couldn't see, the confusion that she couldn't remember, when she fell onto her hip, Harry and Ron's findings and her sprained ankle the day before.

Luna listened earnestly, Hermione could hear her quill scratching away, before she said, "You're leaving something out."

"What?" Hermione asked, "No I'm not."

"There's a big gap in your emotions, connecting the day you got to the hospital and your happiness a few days later."

Hermione blushed, "I just started to accept what happened to me."

Luna tutted, tapping the paper in front of her, "That didn't happen until later." Luna got up and placed her hands on Hermione's shoulder, pressing lightly. "Something deeper happened. Someone helped you to get through this. I can feel a foreign energy, like a seed, inside you."

"Well not just one person, all my friends: Harry, Ron, Ginny, George, Mrs. Weasley."

Luna pressed again, "Ah yes, many. I feel those seeds. They give off a faint aura, a little tingle. The bigger they are, the more I can identify who they represent. I definitely feel the George one, I can't distinguish the others from one another, but there's another one. It's kind of small but growing slowly in a different way from the others."

Luna moved her hands down from Hermione's shoulder, prodding her back at certain places. Until her hand landed on a spot on Hermione's back directly behind Hermione's heart. "That special seed is right here. Someone has occupied a place in your heart, well over it."

When Luna applied a stronger pressure to the spot on her back, an image of Draco flashed through her mind and the feelings of the contours of his face hovered on her fingers. What was that?

Luna moved back around to her desk, her quill scratching away again. "Love is a touchy subject among patients and I understand if you don't want to share that with me today, but just know that you can at anytime. I'm always here to listen and advise."

Hermione blushed. Could it really be true? Was she starting to like, maybe even love Malfoy? She barely spoke to him, just recently they were friends. How could that happen so fast?

Hermione said nothing, running her hand idly over the arms of her chair, which she found out was a blue-green colour, before Luna's quill stopped and she broke the silence. "We'll talk a bit now about getting use to your condition and what to do if you should have any episodes from your injuries, physical, mental or emotional."

They spoke a bit more afterwards, Luna instructing Hermione on how to ease any pain in her legs if they should act up again, if she may become depressed or hurt, some things about getting around that Healer Williams hadn't said, etc.

A small alarm went off on Luna's desk before she heard a voice. "A Mr. Weasley is at the front desk for Ms. Granger."

"Send someone to pick her up please." Luna pulled Hermione out of her seat and walked her to the door. "We actually went over time today Hermione, but I don't mind. We will have another session next week, but you can always contact me anytime."

Hermione smiled and said, "You can always come by the Burrow as well. It was nice to see you and you're always welcome."

"I'll tell you the next time I can."

The door opened and Hermione heard, "Hello Lovegood." She could feel her face break out into a smile without even thinking about it. Just hearing him, knowing he was there, made her smile? **_Could Luna really be right? Calm down, Hermione. Keep it cool._**

"Hello Draco. She's in your care now."

Malfoy took Hermione's hand, Hermione trying to read too much into his warm hand on her forearm, and pulled into the wheelchair in front of him. He was about to push off before Luna said, "Draco, one minute please."

Hermione felt Malfoy move away from the wheelchair. Luna muttered, 'I see' before Malfoy came back and wheeled her in silence to a waiting George.

* * *

_Just to point out if you didn't realize, Luna just read Draco's aura. *hint hint wink wink*_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Here's the next chapter. Harry, Ron and George are on the case, skulking out the alley once more. And then some Dramione: Hermione and Draco go on a small date. As always, I hope you enjoy, review, favourite and follow._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

George trailed behind Harry and Ron as they strolled down Diagon Alley. He had just left the store in Verity's hands as the trio headed out for the alley Hermione was found. They stopped in front of the opening and looked at the shops that lined it.

"Alright, I'll check this hat store. Ron, you check this small jewelery store and George, you check the bakery."

George's eyes light up as Ron deflated. "Why can't I check the bakery?"

George just patted Ron's head and trotted off into The Bread Basket, Ron walked into Bartham's Jewels and Harry walked into Aleksandra's Haberdashery. Harry stepped through the doorway and straight into a long string of tinkling bells. He flailed to free himself and stumbled down some steps into the musty, cramped store. Dusting himself off with a sneeze, Harry looked around him. There were no other customers here; the store seemed a bit strange for the common shopper. Sheer orange, purple and green drapes were strung from the ceiling and in front of the windows. More long strings of bells hung from the ceiling from seemingly random places. Harry passed more hats than he could count of different shapes, sizes and colours. The store also sold ties, belt and wallets, which Harry could not see from outside. He walked right up to the elderly lady at the counter. "Hello, Ma'am. I'm looking for a burly man with brown hair?"

The woman smiled at him sweetly but gave no response. Harry repeated and she continued to smile at him. She got up from her chair and started speaking rapidly in a foreign language and gesturing wildly to the merchandise. Harry smiled back her uncomfortably, trying to avoid her spindly hands as she pulled hat after hat onto his head. In the end, he ended up buying a large orange and purple striped top hat for 10 galleons (rip-off).

He walked back out onto the street to see a content George and Ron noshing on cookies. Upon seeing him, George and Ron gave him wide grins and George handed him a cookie of his own.

"Didn't know you were so fashion-forward, mate," George said with a cheeky grin.

Harry just grinned back, taking the cookie and placing the hat onto George's head. "Fits you more, and I know you like orange. Did you guys find anything?"

Ron shook his head and George shrugged. "The baker was the witness on the night. He was locking up the bakery when he saw the man. He repeated the same story, saying it was dark and he couldn't see much. But he did add that the man ran off slightly limping. That might be helpful."

Harry told them, "The lady in the shop spoke a different language so I couldn't-"

Ron tapped Harry's shoulder and pointed behind him. The three boys watched as a burly man with shoulder-length, shaggy brown hair hobbled through the door to the haberdashery. Harry started for the door, Ron and George behind him. They pushed the door open and again, Harry got tangled into the string of bells. The two inhabitants of the shop turned to the entrance as the three boys toppled down the stairs. Harry and Ron quickly righted themselves, their wands already pointed at the man as George walked over to the elderly lady. The man was stammering in the strange language while the elderly lady came around the counter, shaking her small fists at George and shouting at the intruders.

"Ma'am, ma'am, please calm down," George said to the lady, holding her hands gently by her wrists.

There was more shouting, the large man looking close to wetting himself before a heavily-accented voice called out, "Vat's going on out 'ere?"

A young girl, probably about sixteen, came from a backroom separated by a beaded curtain. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail, a smudge of dirt across her forehead to match her hands. She screamed again at the newcomers, "Vat are you doing to my gjyshe and daje?"

Ron's eyes darted to the girl, "Your what?"

"My gran'ma and uncle. Vat are you here for?" she cried out.

Harry saw the confused look on the man's face, and the angry looks on the two women's faces. This was not the right man. He lowered his wand and nudged Ron to the do the same. George slowly released the angry old woman, patting her hands softly. She gave him one good swat on the chest before walking back behind the counter.

Harry offered, "We're sorry about this. We're Aurors on a case looking for a suspect and your uncle fit the description."

"My daje has done nothing wrong. He is a good man," the girl said, coming closer to his and holding her uncle's hand. The large man was breathing heavily, his eyes jumping between the girl and Harry and Ron's wands. The girl added quietly, "They don't speak English. Ve came here from Albania ven I vas younger."

Harry nodded. "We're very sorry for the mistake. But do you know any other large man with brown hair?"

The girl shook her head. She turned to her grandmother and uncle and spoke rapidly. They responded back and she nodded before saying to the boys, "My gjyshe says there is a man who valks outside the shop sometimes, always smoking, looking around at the pretty girls she said. She always screams at him to move away from the store for scaring off customers."

"Anything else about him?"

"No. Since she can't speak English, she never speak to him before and he always moves off ven he hears her screaming. She probably brings attention to vatever he's doing."

George pointed to his wrist. Harry quickly said, "If you see him again, tell us please. Keep him here as long as possible."

The girl nodded hesitantly before asking, "And you are...?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, as he, Ron and George walked up the stairs to the door of the store. "Harry Potter."

* * *

Hermione was at the Burrow with Mrs Weasley. Ginny had Quidditch practice today so it left Hermione in the kitchen rolling dough for biscuits. Hermione couldn't do much lest she put her hand in a pot of boiling water, and despite Mrs Weasley's insistence that she had it all under control, Hermione wanted something to do. So biscuits it was. Hermione breathed in deeply. She had already completed one tray of biscuits, the hot, sweet smell filling the kitchen, just barely overpowering the smell of Mrs Weasley's roast chicken.

There was tapping and Mrs Weasley's steps. "Hermione, there's a letter for you." Before Hermione could stop her, Mrs Weasley already opened it and read it out loud, _"Granger, today I'm on garden duty. That bakery smells amazing from up here. Fresh croissants. Maybe we should go sometime?"_

Hermione blushed as Mrs Weasley giggled. "You have an admirer, Hermione. There's no name though. Do you know who it is?"

Hermione reached out, blindly fumbling for the letter in Mrs Weasley's hand. She giggled again as Hermione snatched it from her grasp. "Oh this is just lovely. You must bring him over for dinner sometime soon."

Hermione blushed again, hiding her face from the woman. She would have to talk to Ginny later.

* * *

"Ginny I need your help, **Ow!**" Hermione said.

It was past midnight and Hermione shook Ginny awake, causing Ginny's hand to fly out and hit Hermione right in the eye. Hermione clutched her face in pain as Ginny slowly rose her head from her pillow. She looked blearily around the room, her eyes slowly focusing on a cursing Hermione rocking on the floor.

"Oh Hermione! I'm so sorry," Ginny got up, pulling Hermione towards her. With a flick of her wand, Ginny's room was lit and she inspected Hermione's eye. Hermione did not sleep with her glasses and Ginny was always reluctant to look into her open eyes, though she never said anything to Hermione. However, from what Ginny saw, Hermione wasn't hurt or bleeding. "You look fine. I can get some ice for you if it hurts"

"No, that's fine," Hermione groaned. Ginny pulled the girl off the ground and situated her beside her on the bed. Hermione continued, "I was going to ask you to do something for me. I need you to write a letter for me."

"What!" Ginny said incredulously, "You wake me up at 1 in the morning, after I had a long Quidditch practice, to write a letter." Ginny flopped face down onto her pillow, scratching the back of her head. "Can't this wait til morning?"

"No, because I want it to reach by morning." Hermione said, shaking Ginny's leg.

"Fine," Ginny said begrudgingly. Ginny got up and walked to her writing desk and pulled out a spare bit of parchment. "You really need to make reading and writing your next priority, Hermione."

Hermione smiled sadly, "I know, Gin."

Ginny felt slightly bad at Hermione's sad tone. She knew how much Hermione missed her reading. Ginny said loudly, wanting to put the sad moment behind them, "What do you want to say?"

Hermione stumbled over and steadied herself by Ginny's shoulder, dictating, "_I would love to go to the bakery with you. I have a session today from 10 to 12. We can go for lunch. See you then._"

Ginny turned to Hermione quickly after writing the last word. "You have a date, Hermione? Don't tell me it's Malfoy."

"I told you he's changed, Gin. In what world would the old Malfoy ask me to lunch?"

"In your world of make-believe, Hermione." Ginny said, while folding the note in two.

"Then maybe if more people believed, these things would come true more often."

Ginny shook her head, her hair brushing over Hermione's fingers on her shoulder, and then stood. "I'll run upstairs and hand this to Pig. Hopefully it's not too much for the little owl, but Errol's gotten too old for long flights."

Ginny saw Hermione lie back on her bed as she left the room. Though she may not like Malfoy, he seemed to make Hermione happy, and that was enough for now.

* * *

Hermione sat in Healer Johnson's office today. Healer Johnson would start Hermione's lessons in reading and writing. Hermione wanted to read more than her need to write, so they would start there first.

Healer Johnson laughed, "You know you could spell your books and letters to read to you."

Hermione smiled, "That is true, but there's something to be said about just private reading, you and the book and no one else hearing. And I can't use a wand yet." Hermione frowned. She longed to use her wand again too but Healer Headley said it was too dangerous and would not give her any idea if she would ever be able to any time soon.

So for the best part of the next two hours, Healer Johnson taught Hermione how to read braille letters. This was a totally foreign concept to Hermione, reading through touch. As Healer Johnson told her, this is how blind muggles read and just recently, wizards and witches were adopting this practice for their blind people. Hermione ran her hand across the raised dots on the page slowly though impatiently. Healer Johnson also said it would take awhile for Hermione to be actually reading books at the speed she would have liked, but this was a start.

At the end of the session, Healer Johnson was dismissing her when she asked, "Can you page Draco Malfoy to pick me up, please?"

Healer Johnson scoffed, "The Death-Eater boy? Why, dear?"

Hermione frowned. She would have glared at the woman but that was out of the question. "Because I asked. Page him please," she said through gritted teeth. She did not have to explain herself to this woman.

Soon there was a knock on the door and Hermione heard Healer Johnson rise from her chair.

Malfoy said politely, "Good afternoon, Healer Johnson, Ms Granger. Is she ready to go?"

"Yes, Mr Malfoy," Healer Johnson said shortly. Hermione might have said something, her impression of the lady going quickly south, but Malfoy was already pulling her into the wheelchair and taking her out of the room.

Hermione huffed as she was pushed down the hallway. "I can walk perfectly fine, Malfoy."

"I know that, Granger. But it's hospital protocol. Once we reach the lobby, you can get out of the chair."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and huffed again. That woman had really ticked her off. How dare she judge Malfoy like that? He was here to make himself better, to pay off a debt to society. He had seen the error of his ways and wanted to be someone else, but was it all worth nothing if that didn't even change people's view of him, if he would always be 'the Death-Eater boy'? No one wanted to get to know him, to actually see the changes that he had been making. But Hermione saw. Just them being friends was change enough.

Malfoy spoke, pulling Hermione back to the present. "We're here." He came around and helped her onto her feet, hooking her hand in his. She leaned against him, trusting him completely not to lead her into anything dangerous.

She felt the strange feeling of the fake window wash over her as they stepped onto the busy muggle road. The sun felt nice on her skin as they walked along the sidewalk. Malfoy carried the conversation, telling her all about his work with the garden yesterday and the mundane task of sorting the patients' mail but Hermione was partly distracted by Malfoy's cologne, the smell heavy on his clothes.

As they neared the bakery, his smell was overpowered by the baking bread. Malfoy laughed when it was obvious she was no longer listening and just following her nose. He held the door open for her as they walked in. He seated her at a table near the window. Hermione was happy since, although she couldn't see outside, she could still feel the warmth of outside through the glass.

He soon came back to her and placed something in front of her. Hermione breathed in deeply. It smelled like coffee and a sweet baked good. She hesitantly grabbed the short coffee cup and brought it up to her nose.

Malfoy laughed, "It's called a latte. It's coffee and steamed milk the muggle said. She said girls like that."

Hermione took a sip, "Tastes good. What'd you get?"

"Regular coffee with three sugars."

Hermione laughed, "I didn't know you had such a sweettooth, Malfoy. They say those who secretly love sweets are secretly sweet people."

"Watch it, Granger. You might make me blush."

"I'd like to see that," Hermione said, hiding her own blush in her coffee cup. She was on a date with Draco Malfoy and they were flirting.

She reached for the pastry in front of her, the sides flaking off under her fingers. "What's this?" she asked, holding it in front of her nose as well.

Malfoy spoke up again, "It's a chocolate croissant. They're my favorite so I got one for you too."

Hermione bit down deep. Oh the gooey chocolatey-ness. Hermione just died. Her face was fixed in a permanent grin as she scarfed down the pastry in a very unladylike manner. Then she heard Malfoy laugh, a real, deep laugh.

"What!" Hermione snapped waiting for him to stop.

Malfoy's laughter finally stopped but sounding as confident as ever, "I've never seen food disappear that quick since I had to watch Weasley eat at school." At Hermione's frown, Malfoy added, "Chill, Granger. Just a joke. But it was funny watching you eat like the croissant would run away. But you've got something right here."

Hermione felt Malfoy's thumb move slowly over the corner of her mouth. His touch was warm, the pad of thumb slightly calloused, and then it was gone. "There."

Their 'date' continued, Malfoy even ordering another set of chocolate croissants. But Malfoy suddenly reached over and put his hand on her arm. "I have to get back now. Let me get you another latte to go."

They re-entered the hospital lobby and Malfoy walked her to the reception desk, asking the receptionist to floo-call someone to pick her up. He led her over to a comfy chair in the lobby and handed her the coffee. She smiled up at him, holding his hand to keep him close, "I had a good time today, Malfoy."

"You sound surprised," he said lightly, his tone lacking the smug she was used to.

Hermione shrugged, "I didn't know what to expect actually, but I trusted that you had a plan and knew how to treat a lady."

Hermione felt his mood change suddenly and she wondered if she had done something wrong. She felt him crouch in front of her and his fingers reached her glasses. He lifted them off her face, and she quickly shut her eyes that were open beneath them. "Open them please," he whispered.

Slowly, Hermione did and she felt him run his thumb over the knuckles of the hand he was still holding. She waited anxiously, her heart thumping her ears. Something was about to happen. Then all at once, he came closer to her and his lips were on hers. They were soft but sure, and before she even registered that this was really happening, Draco Malfoy was really kissing her, Hermione Granger, his lips left hers. He placed one more kiss on her cheek before saying softly, "I had a great time too." He rose from the floor and said, "See you later, Granger," before he walked away.

She turned towards his retreating footsteps, which soon got lost in the crowd. Replacing her glasses on her faces, she sat back in the chair. Wow, that really happened. Her lips were still warm, his cologne still lingered around her, her cheek ti-

"Hermione, ready to go?" George asked from her right.

* * *

_A/N 2: There we go, the first Dramione date and kiss - short sweet and to the point. He's so sweet and not overbearing. He doesn't just force himself on her. He takes it slow until she's ready. I was gonna do the date from his POV but I decided to keep it in Hermione's POV, so I could talk about her senses. I might do the date from Draco's POV (like a memory) in the next chapter._

_In reference to the scene in the haberdashery, I'm assuming that Harry's scar was covered and without it, this partly foreign girl wouldn't easily recognize him. They will come back in a later chapter and I will name the girl then._


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Hermione is not feeling well today and needs some Harry comfort. And Luna might be able to help Hermione, with Draco's help of course. As always RxR. FxF._

_Draco doesn't have to see Hermione every time she goes to the hospital and in her current mood, I doubt she would have wanted to see him anyways._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

The boys had told Hermione about the spell they heard in the memory. She had felt hopeful with all the progress they had made and then they turned to her for help. She was the smart one, she was one who had all the answers. Hermione hadn't the foggiest what spell that was or what it could do, and her only way of knowing new things was no longer available. The things that made her Hermione, her books, her reading, were gone. She felt useless, helpless and currently, she was moping in her bed with her legs drawn to her chest.

The door opened up but Hermione didn't move. She heard heavy footsteps approach her bedside before a kind voice said, "Hermione, why are you still up here?"

"Nothing else to do, really," she offered with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Her bed shifted as someone sat behind her. "We could go downstairs and get some fresh air. In here is kind of stuffy."

She turned more into herself, "Not today, Harry. I just wanna stay in."

There was silence and then a soft hand brushing her hair off her shoulder and then settling there. "Hermione, are you ok? I don't like seeing you so... off."

She shrugged his hand from her shoulder. He wouldn't really understand the problem she had now and it was hard to explain. "Ummm you like flying right?"

He was confused but said, "Sure, I love flying."

"More than anything else in the world? Defines your whole being and gets you out of bed to fly higher and faster than before."

She heard him chuckle. "Now imagine tomorrow you couldn't. Your arms or your legs were chopped off... or your eyes were..." She whispered the last part, the end left unsaid as tears stung her own eyes. It hit home for Hermione as she said those last words and she broke down, her body shaking with sobs.

She felt Harry shift and soon he was lying behind her on the bed. He draped his arm around her waist and held her close. "I'm so sorry, Hermione," he whispered into her ear, making small circles on her skin. They lay like that for a while, Hermione's cries slowly fading as Harry comforted and calmed her down. Once her was sure she was tired out, Harry extricated himself from her and left the room silently.

* * *

"She's really bummed, guys." Harry said as he sat at the Weasley table. He had just come home for lunch with Ron and Mrs Weasley had told him that Hermione hadn't come downstairs all morning. He didn't think he'd have to comfort a sad girl when he went to check up on her.

Ron was across from him finishing the last of his sandwich. "She's right though. I'd probably feel even worse than her if I was unable to do the one thing I loved. We need to do something for her."

Harry traced a finger along the knots in the wooden table. "The best thing would be for her sight to come back. Everything else just seems so insignificant if she still can't get that."

Mrs Weasley tutted before placing another tray of sandwiches between the boys. "We know this is hard on the girl. She still wants to be useful and wants to things to be as they are but she's smart and she knows that it's not possible. All we can do, whether or not there is a way for her to see again, is to support her and love her. When she had moments like this, we be there for her, like you just were Harry. It might seem small but imagine how it would be if you had done nothing at all. Now she knows she has you, and everyone around her, whether she asks for the comfort or not."

Mrs Weasley left the two boys at the table still unsure of how to cheer up their best friend.

* * *

Hermione was back in therapy with Luna. Today, she was lying on Luna's long couch as Luna massaged her temples, scalp and face. Luna would ask Hermione questions, sometimes prodding a specific area before moving onto the next. Hermione thought Luna's methods were strange, but so far every inference and conclusion she made were right. Hermione only knew how all this prodding and touching was helping, but Luna was always smart and wise.

Luna's hands moved over Hermione's eyes. Hermione felt a small tingle and Luna said, "There seems to be something blocking your eyes. I don't know about anatomy but I can definitely feel something magical here. Maybe if this block were gone, then your eyes would be fine."

Hermione's lids shot open under Luna's hands. She might be able to get back her eyesight? Luna continued speaking, "It is a big block though and we have nothing to go off to try and remove it. I'm not sure if you'd want to try experimental spells or potions. They have the possibility of making the situations worse than better."

Hermione's lids closed again. Possibly worse? worse than not seeing anything at all? An irrational part of her mind was screaming that nothing could be worse than this. But then she could easily think of many things worse: pain (which she was no longer feeling), her eyeballs melting or disappearing altogether, bleeding, death. No, she didn't want an experimental treatment. She wasn't ready for that risk just yet.

Hermione said, "Harry and Ron have an idea what spell was used but I can't research because..." she trailed off but she knew Luna would know.

Luna prodded her temple and there was a flash in Hermione's mind. 'Oh' Luna muttered. "What was the spell?" Luna asked as she traced an invisible path from the corner of Hermione's eyes to her temples and across her scalp.

"Caeca dolor. Sounds very ominous but I've never heard it before."

Luna moved away from Hermione and Hermione missed the soothing touch of the blonde haired witch. There was page flipping and then Luna said, "I don't have a magic spell book here, but I do have a Latin book. Caeca dolor means something like 'blinding pain'."

"Blinding pain," Hermione muttered. **_Makes sense, huh?_** She said outloud to Luna, "I still don't know anything about it though."

Luna had resumed her ministrations on Hermione's head and Hermione relaxed again. "I can do some research on it for you. The hospital obviously has an extensive medical library. Hopefully, at least one book with mention that spell, even if it might be dark magic."

Then Hermione smiled. "Thank you so much, Luna."

"No problem. Now go to sleep. I need to go deeper into your head."

"What are you-" Before Hermione could finish, Luna pressed firmly on the spots right behind Hermione's ears and Hermione was welcomed into the darkness.

* * *

The wobbly cart creaked in front of Draco as he moved through the hallway, barely paying attention to what he was really doing. His mind would wander at odd times back to his lunch date with Granger. She just looked so happy and carefree. She was in tune with all her senses and he could tell she really enjoyed herself. Without her sight, her face and body had become expressive as she tried to learn and see the world through other means. Without her sight, she seemed more confident as she could no longer tell just how she looked when she was sniffing a chocolate croissant in the middle of a crowded cafe like a nutter. And even without her sight, she hadn't lost her witty charm and snarky attitude.

It was pleasant sight to see, and one he wished he could feel for himself. To be free and walk around, ignoring the stares and uncomfortable shivers than ran through persons when you entered a room. Without sight, he would walk through unaware and confidently just like her. Not that it didn't stop people from still thinking what they wanted about you. But he wouldn't care and he would be happy with himself. Isn't that all that really mattered?

He looked up and realized he had walked right past the room of the next person on his list, "Agnes Tropple." With a sigh, Draco pulled the heavy cart backwards to room 15. Only 20 more people to go before lunch time.

He wondered what Granger was doing right now and whether he should ask out for lunch again. Seeing her so happy was infectious and god knows just how much he needed a little happiness in his life. Around her, he could be himself for he knew she would never look down on him, she would never see him as a lower-class citizen. Well maybe before, when she despised him but he deserved that. Now she trusted him, she even let him kiss her no matter how far-fetched it seemed. Draco could still remember the softness of her mouth and just how surprised she had been. It was very easy to surprise someone who could never see it coming, Draco chuckled to himself. He would never lose this girl, especially if it meant he'd be able to surprise her as many times as he wanted.

* * *

Luna walked through the hospital lobby gracefully avoiding the harried lime green robes running around her. She had just lead Hermione into Ginny's arms and after a quick hug from each other them, was departing back to her office.

Hermione's case troubled her. It was one of her first, and one of her friend's, but there was something else. It just felt like something was there, something she was on the edge of but could not properly see. Even when she probed deep into Hermione's mind, the large presence hovered above her but she couldn't read it. It could be that strange spell. Maybe it's doing more than just prohibiting her eyes. She needed to find out more, and maybe she needed to read her own therapy books over.

There was one person Luna did not gracefully avoid, or maybe it was an intentional-unintentional meeting when she bumped into Draco Malfoy. He was pushing the potions cart and was just moving away from a patient's room when they met. She watched him, taking in the smallest movements: the curve of his mouth as he bade the witch inside the room 'Good Day', the use of his arm to pull the door closed instead of his hand, the tapping of his fingers on the handle of the trolley and the way his face lit up before it smoothed back out into polite indifference at the sight of her.

"Draco," she nodded. He nodded back but said nothing. When he realized she was not moving, he said, "Can I help you, Lovegood?"

Luna read his aura as she stood before him, which appeared as bright lights standing out around his body as he shifted uncomfortably on each foot. She blinked and said, "Not particularly, but I do know that Mrs Tropple adores when nice young men visit her, even if it's just to give her her potions."

Luna saw the bright lights flash in sequence as she expected from his embarrassment but was slightly disappointed that he controlled the pink tinge that would have rose to his cheeks. **_Still not very comfortable with his emotions._**

He cleared his throat and moved the trolley a bit towards her, "I've got other potions to deliver. See you around, Lovegood."

Luna held out a hand and he stopped. He was curious but scared, she read. Maybe he thought she would shout at him. Luna almost laughed, but that might have scared him more. Instead she said softly, "I know how much you care about Hermione." There were more bright flashes: shock, fear, but Luna didn't let him dwell on those as she continued, "I might need your help. You have a dark background so you must have a dark knowledge. Have you ever heard of the spell, Caeca dolor?"

Luna watched the gears working and then he said, "I have heard it before. Father told me once, but I don't remember anything about it."

"Could you find out or do you have a book?"

There was some more whirring in his head, so fast Luna couldn't decipher them. Then he said, "I can get you the book."

Luna smiled at him, "Thank you, Draco. That would wonderful." She moved away but not before saying, "Hermione's glasses really fit her. You should get her a gold pair."


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: So, Draco starts to look for the book and I get to introduce Charlie to the story. Yay. I love Charlie. __We're moving just a bit slowly, but Draco will find the spell (spoiler!) and Harry, Ron and George will find out more about the attacker. RxR. FxF._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

At the end of Draco's shift, he left St. Mungo's and flooed home to his flat. He had gotten it right after his trial. He couldn't go back to that place, and neither could his mother. However, she had said that he needed to find his own way and learn to live on her own. They had closed down the Manor, put most of the items in storage and she had moved into another property his family owned in France and he promised to visit after his six months were up.

It was a small space and at first, Draco couldn't get used to the culture shock. He was used to luxury and splendor, high ceilings and large rooms. Now, he just had a living room connected to his kitchen, and a hallway connecting a bathroom and two bedrooms, which had become cozy over time and just right for one man. The only things from his past were some furniture from the Manor and most of the books from the library.

He threw his outer coat onto his living room couch and walked towards the spare room, or what he considered his study where he had put all the books. Maybe the spell Lovegood had said would be in the one of these.

* * *

Hermione was spending the day with George at the shop. She couldn't take sitting in her room at the Burrow anymore and no one else could take her, but George was happy to spend time with his Mione. Currently, she sat at the cash register beside Verity and the two of them were having a great time just talking.

Sometimes Verity would have to leave the counter to help out a customer and Hermione would just sit and listen to the sounds around her. A joke shop was such a lively place, all the sounds and sometimes strange smells. She felt excited just being her among all the noise and there was never a time she wished she could see than now, well except to read.

She almost went back into her funk, if not for someone rushing up to the counter and grabbing her face.

"AAAAHH!" Hermione screamed pushing back at the hands.

There was deep chuckle and someone said, "Why Hermione, you don't remember me."

Hermione was a bit confused. She knew the voice but-

"Oh big brother, what brings you here?" George said as he approached the two.

"Oh, I went home and Mum told me you were here with Hermione and about what happened."

She felt large hands pull her close and she could felt a warm chest engulf her and the faint burning smell. The man said, "I'm so sorry, Hermione."

"Thank you, Charlie," Hermione said, loving the warmth she recognized of the second oldest Weasley brother. He just felt like a giant teddy bear and Hermione hadn't realized just how much she would love his hugs.

"We've been trying to find out who did this to her." George said.

Charlie pulled away and his voice sound surprised, "You mean the guy isn't being tortured for injuring our poor Hermione?"

"No not yet. All we know is the name of the spell, but not what it does, and that he's big, has shaggy brown hair and a limp."

Charlie made a low sound in his throat. "Definitely not enough to go off of. Anything I can do? I'll be staying home for the next two weeks before I actually have to go to Russia. There's a Norwegian Ridgeback in a reserve there and she's about to lay her eggs."

Hermione made a face and the two men laughed at her, "Helping a mother dragon must be the most disgusting thing in the world."

Charlie said, "What you really gotta worry about is trying to get close enough to help without her biting your head off, literally. Pregnant dragons are very hormonal."

George spoke up after a brief pause. "Actually, there is something you could do for me, if you don't mind stopping into work for a moment."

Hermione just sat there, the noise of the joke shop drowning out their conversation. They were whispering? Hermione looked down at her lap. It was weird knowing people were whispering, or even talking about you, right in front of you. No need to go behind your back if you couldn't see.

"Ready to go, Hermione?" Charlie asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What?" Hermione asked. When had they started talking to her?

Charlie repeated, "I have a surprise for you. Ready to go?"

Hermione allowed Charlie to escort out of the large joke shop, shouting a goodbye to George before the loud sounds of the shops were replaced by the loud sounds of the Alley.

"Hold onto my arm," Charlie said and Hermione clutched tightly as they were squeezed through a centimetre-wide tube and disappeared from Diagon Alley.

* * *

Hermione could smell burnt wood and some type of animal smell, like a farm, a burning farm. There were small 'yip' sounds from somewhere below her and she turned to Charlie with what she hoped was a confused look on her face.

She heard a deep rumble and said, "This is your surprise."

He took her hand and pulled it out in front of her though she was a bit hesitant. She was leaning against a metal fence as he stretched her arm out. She felt a warm snout nuzzle her hand and more yipping noises. She moved her hand out of Charlie's grip and down the snout. Her fingers tingled as they ran over the strange red and yellow flat plates that made up his body.

"Charlie, am I petting a dragon?" Hermione asked incredulously, the amazement in her voice unrestrained. She had never been close to a dragon since the time escaping Gringotts, a baby dragon since her first year. This was a totally different experience than those two.

Charlie chuckled again, "Can't pull a fast one over you, can I? Yes, this is a pen where we keep some of the babies. They stay relatively tame at this age and I've got them to stop nibbling on people's fingers now. You don't know how hard it was to teach them that."

Charlie took her and led a bit to the right and then through the metal fence until she felt a lot of jumping around her legs. She bent low and reach her hands out, rubbing the heads of many frisky dragons.

"How many are there?" Hermione asked, as one nuzzled the palm of her hand.

"This enclosure has four. We try not to put more than six in a pen, because they play a bit too rough sometimes, but they're all still too small to breathe fire. When that time comes, we move them into a different enclosure."

Hermione nodded and laughed as the dragon trotted around her, some jumping a little, their tiny wings fluttering near Hermione's ear before they fell back to the ground. Charlie said their wings weren't developed enough to support them for too long, but Hermione didn't care. Hermione was having a great time with the baby dragons and Charlie.

* * *

"AAAAHH!" Draco screamed as he tossed another book onto the rug at his feet. It was after midnight and he couldn't find any mention of that bloody spell. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and rose from the high-backed chair and walked into his kitchen. He thought about giving up for the night but no, he had to find this out for Granger. If this meant that he could help her, that he could give her back the one thing he knew she wanted most in the world, then he would give it to her. He would find that spell and they would find a way to reverse it.

But did he really want her sight back? It was possible that once she could see, then she would turn on him, give the same disgusted looks as all the others. If she was blind then she would continue to need him, she would keep coming back to the hospital and would never give him those horrible stares.

_**Stop being selfish, Draco!** _He screamed at himself. He was being completely self-absorbed. This was not about him, this was about Granger. And he had gotten to know her so well after the last few weeks that he knew she would not turn on him. She said it herself, she trusted him. And he needed her. He would do this.

Making himself a quick cup of coffee, he returned to his search in the study. He would find that spell tonight.


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Is Mr Burgess involved somehow? And are Luna and Draco onto something? Meanwhile, poor Hermione can't do anything right. RxR. FxF._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

"We've gotten nowhere, Ron," Harry said as he and his friend's walked through the crowded Auror floor.

'Ow!' Ron said as one of the paper planes hit into his head angrily, before flying off with its friends towards its destination. "We've gotten somewhere: the knife, the memory. It's something."

"But it's not enough. We need to do more," Harry said as they passed the office doors to their own cubicles.

"We've reached a dead-end, Mr Burgess," a voice filtered through the slightly-opened door of the office on the right, "There are no more leads to Ms Granger's attacker."

Harry's eyes widened upon hearing his friend's name. He hadn't realized they were walking right outside this man's office. He silently signalled to Ron to stop and listen.

"I guess we'll just have to close it then. It's a shame really. The Wizarding World's Golden Girl will find no retribution," Mr Burgess said. There was a bit of shuffling and pen-scratching.

"Who will tell her family?" the first voice asked.

"I will take care of that personally," Mr Burgess said. Chairs grated on the floor and Harry and Ron took this as their cue to move.

They were a few feet away when the Mr Burgess' office door creaked open. "Oh boys!" the man called out, "Please, may I have a word?"

Harry and Ron found themselves before the desk of Mr Burgess. The man dropped into his chair dramatically and then plastered a remorseful look on his face. "I'm sorry, boys. The Aurors on Ms. Granger's case have found no more clues or evidence and to minimize a waste of resources, I am closing the case."

"What!" Ron shouted. "It's only been a month. We have other cases that have been open for years that have run cold."

"That may be true, but I had put top Aurors on that case, and now they are needed elsewhere."

"Then put others on it, put me and Ron on it," Harry suggested. "We can find the criminal. In fact, we-"

Mr Burgess held out his hand, "That won't be necessary, Mr Potter. My decision is final. Ms Granger's case has been closed and I was only giving you an update. Now, please enjoy the rest of your day."

That was now their cue to leave. They each gave the man a curt nod before stepping into the hallway.

"That was... fishy. It's only been a month. The case isn't dead yet," Ron said.

"I think Mr Burgess knows something we don't, Ron," Harry said, "But what?"

* * *

Hermione was laying on one of the hospital beds today. She had come in for a checkup and was waiting for the healer to see her. She thought this appointment was pointless but Healer Williams had insisted she get one once a month. This would be the first one since she had been released. She sighed. She never wanted to come back to this place in one of these beds.

"Hello, Hermione!" a bright voice said. She felt her soft, small hands in her own.

"Ummm... Healer Samuel?" Hermione ventured.

"Ah! You remembered!" the girl said happily. "I'll be doing your checkup today, and then Healer Headley will be in for the final diagnosis."

Hermione just lay there, anything to make this thing move faster. She could feel Healer Samuel moving above her, the weird sensations as she cast spells on her body. Healer Samuel would take her limbs and bend them at almost impossible angles but then there would be release. She tested her legs, checking the state of her nerves, and then recorded all her findings on her clipboard. "Everything seems to match with the predictions. No abnormalities. You're fine."

The door creaked open and Healer Samuel said, "Oh, Healer Headley. I was just finished."

"Everything does seem to be in order, Ms Granger." Healer Headley added. There was another tingling sensation from the top of her head down to her toes. "Yes, I agree with Healer Samuel's findings."

"Any progress on my eyes?" Hermione asked hopefully.

There was a pause and then Healer Headley said, "There are a few spells we could try we high success rates, but we will have no idea how they will work unless we actually try them on you. Healer Lovegood had submitted her notes and we too do not know of that spell. Do you want to begin experimenting?"

* * *

Draco woke up with a start, a flurry of parchment thrown up with him before settling among the piles of books and papers around him. He opened and closed his mouth slowly, grimacing at the cottony feeling. He had fallen asleep in the library amidst all the books. He looked at his watch and then jumped to his feet. He was late. He hoped Healer Headley hadn't realized yet.

He ran to the bathroom and stopped in the mirror. His hair was greasy and stuck up in all directions. His eyes were red and rimmed with dark circles. His skin was pale, paler than usual. His limbs were sore from sleeping in such a horrible position and not his soft king bed upstairs. But what drew Draco's attention was the piece of parchment stuck to his forehead.

He pulled it off angrily and almost threw it to the bathroom floor before something caught his eye. It's human nature to read writing and the words jumped out at him - **Caeca dolor**. This was the spell. He kept reading, some of the words a bit confusing especially as the whole thing was written in Latin. But he had found it. He had to find Lovegood.

Draco finished getting ready and then flooed to St. Mungo's.

* * *

She felt him before she saw him. It wasn't hard to and she was curious about this ball of energy moving through the corridor on a warpath towards her. Then he stopped before her and his face was impassive, nothing to give away his emotions except his eyes.

"You've found something?" Luna asked knowingly.

He smirked at her before handing her a scrap of parchment. Her eyes ran over the page, pronouncing the Latin perfectly within her mind before saying, "This is a start, Draco, but it doesn't say much. It's talking about many things that cause 'blinding pain' but not the particular spell. But it also does have a few ways of curing it. I'll look into these and here." Luna took her wand and waved it at the parchment before giving him the original. "If you could continue searching when possible? I'm surprised just how lacking this 'medical' hospital is."

She could feel his excitement fall as she spoke but he had to know. He took the parchment back and was about to walk away when she said, "I was going to visit Hermione now. Would you like to come?" She didn't have to turn around to know he was following.

* * *

"No, no experimenting. I don't want anything worse to happen unless you are more confident," Hermione said. Healer Headley had just run through all the proposed solutions but none had a success rate higher than 65%.

"As you wish, Ms Granger. We will continue our research. But you are free to go. Good day, Ms Granger," Healer Headley said. "Bye, Hermione!" Healer Samuel added. And the two women left her room.

Hermione swung her legs over the bed and grabbed her cane and glasses, ready to leave this horrible place. Then the door opened again, "Hermione."

Hermione frowned and said, "I just want to go home." She flopped back down onto the bed and resumed her original position.

"Granger," a deeper voice said before his rough hand held hers. Then his cologne washed over her nose.

"Malfoy?" Hermione questioned.

"And Luna," the first voice threw in. "Hermione, Draco has found something important in his library. It lists some possible solutions for spells and potions that cause 'blinding pain'. Both of us are going to continue searching, I'll be practicing here at the hospital."

A piece of parchment was put into her free hand. She had completely forgotten that Draco still held hers. She took the parchment in both hands and then frowned, still upset that she couldn't read it.

"Oh, silly me. You can give that copy to Harry and Ron. Here's your copy."

There was another piece of parchment and Hermione's fingers ran over the indentations on the page. It was much harder to read Latin in Braille but it would do.

Luna offered, "I would translate all of this into English by wand, but I don't want anything lost in translation. Now Draco, if you'd excuse us, I'd like to start Hermione's therapy session."

"I don't have a session today," Hermione said.

"No, but I want to see something," Luna said, "And don't you have somewhere else to be, Draco?"

"See you later, Granger," and then the door almost blew off its hinges.

Luna giggled and then lay her hands on Hermione's temples. "He may be in a lot of trouble with Healer Headley, but he'll be back to see you when I'm done. Now, goodnight Hermione."

"What?" Hermione asked and then Luna knocked her out again after prodding the points behind the back of her ears.

* * *

There was a that large block again, a dying moon right behind Hermione's eyes. It swirled angrily and cautiously, Luna prodded the dark ball. The ball began to pull on her and Hermione screamed out, even under Luna's induced sleep. Luna freed herself quickly. This was definitely dark magic. Luna exited Hermione's mind but left Hermione asleep. She would need her rest. She would page Draco to pick her up in about 30 minutes.

* * *

"Luna?" Hermione said warily. She listened around her but there was no noise. Luna must have left her to sleep. She swung her legs back over the side of the bed once more and grabbed her things from the nearby table: her cane, her glasses and her wand. She carried her wand around now more out of habit than necessity.

Being wandless made her feel helpless. Being blind made her feel helpless. Relying on a cane made her feel helpless. And when you were helpless, you were hereby useless.

Hermione could feel the tears collecting under her chin. She had been a mess all week long, though she tried not to be. After her and Luna's sessions, she would feel fine, but when she was back at the Burrow and it was past midnight, she would wake up crying. More than once someone had to comfort her to sleep: Ginny, Harry, George, Ron and once, even Mrs Weasley. She felt like a burden on these kind people. She was Hermione, the little blind girl.

She didn't realize that in her upset state, she was waving her wand about erratically. The magic flowed through her without warning, unstable and wild, and shot through the wand at the opposing wall. There was a loud crack as the wall buckled from the force of the spell, but Hermione was too emotional. She swung the wand again in a flowing arc and blasted the glass cabinet next to her. She barely felt the shards that zoomed past her, cutting open her skin and embedding themselves in her face. If not for her glasses, they would have landed in her eyes.

An alarm went off overhead, but Hermione instinctively pointed up, destroying the alarm and its horrible sound. Could someone helpless and useless do that?

Something caught on fire, the wooden cupboards, her bedsheets? She was not sure but the room was filling with smoke. She coughed, her throat stinging from the harsh fumes. She screamed but the more she did, the more she felt tired. She fell back on the bed and passed out.

* * *

_**That old bat!**_ Draco grumbled as he held the written warning in his hand. He now had to get this signed by Mr Boyd. When he asked why she couldn't, she gave him the dirtiest look he ever saw on an old lady and just sent him out of her office. Now, he had to find My Boyd on his own and explain why he needed his signature. Like a kid presenting his bad report card to his parent. Draco shuddered. He had enough experience with that.

There was an alarm overhead and all the healers stopped what they were doing and looked up. The ceiling filled with dots which ran along towards the room in trouble. Draco looked up and realized they led right to room 72, which was one room ahead, its door blinking red.

_**Granger!** _He was just there. Hadn't even been 15 minutes. Draco dashed forward, feeling the heat outside the door before pushing it open. The room was ablaze, flames clinging to any surface it could. Smoke was thick in the air and Draco knew he had to act fast.

Granger was still on the bed where they left her. Her glasses were on her face and her cane was nearby. Maybe she was about to leave? Her wand was near her hand as well. He ran up to her and picked her up, pocketing her cane and wand as well. Small bits of glass covered her body from the various vials that exploded in the heat. Some were already stuck in her skin, causing small rivulets of blood to flow downwards.

He spun to take out her out of the blaze to find other healers had rushed into the room. They were already putting out the flames and vanishing the smoke. He saw Healer Samuel in front of him, her eyes wide. "Mr Malfoy, come quickly."

He followed the young healer outside to an awaiting gurney. "Place her here, Mr Malfoy, and help me take her to room 58." Draco didn't need telling twice. As they walked, Healer Samuel ran spells over the girl and rambled, "She was fine an hour ago... she's inhaled a lot of smoke... lucky you were there."

Draco just kept pushing, willing his heart to slow down. For a moment, he thought he was too late and he didn't want to think that way. _**Not Granger!**_

* * *

"Granger. Granger," Draco shook her but she was in a deep sleep. "Hermione?"

"Wha?" she said, her eyelids opening. Her eyes darted around and then stopped right on the bright light above them. For a fleeting second, he hoped that she was seeing it but he knew that to not be true. If she was, she would have flinched and closed her eyes. Instead, they remained opened and her pupils remained wide.

He grabbed her glasses and handed them to her. "You should probably put those on. You'll damage your eyes staring at the light for too long."

She blushed and took the things from him before she sat up on the bed. She cleared her throat, "Where am I? I thought I'd be out of here."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "What do you remember, Granger?"

She seemed flustered, "Luna knocked me out as usual. I wanna get out of here. I've been here long enough." She started reaching out around her. "Where's my cane? Where's my wand?"

"I have them here but I've been told not to give them to you," he said slowly. She seemed very short tempered right now.

"What! Give them to me," she growled, leaning as far over the bed as she could without actually leaving it.

"No. Healer Headley assigned me to watch you today, since I did such a good job of saving you," Draco said while avoiding her hands.

Then she stopped. "Saved me? from what?"

Draco sighed. "I was walking from Healer Headley's office with a warning and there was an alarm coming from your room. The room was on fire and I grabbed you and ran out of there. You passed out from the smoke, Healer Samuel said. They don't know why your room would just catch on fire though."

She got quiet and Draco approached her slowly. He put a soft hand on her shoulder, "Granger?"

"Malfoy!" she sobbed and threw her hands around his neck. He stumbled in surprise at the sudden movement but then came closer to her. His hands moved to rub small circles on her back as she continued to cry into his chest. "I'm so useless, so helpless, and I almost killed myself. I can't do anything right."

He made soothing sounds and said, "No you're not. You're Hermione Granger, saviour of the Wizarding World. You didn't almost kill yourself."

"But I did." She pulled away and angled her head up at his. "My wand was in my hand and I lost control. I almost burnt myself alive in there." She threw herself back into his chest, "And it would have been all my fault."

Draco had never been the best at this sort of thing. How do you comfort someone who really almost killed themselves? But he continued rubbing her back and whisperings nonsensical words into her ear until she slowly fell asleep.

He lay her back into bed, his eyes taking in the bandages on her face, arms and legs. She hadn't seemed to notice them in her distraught state, but he knew that would send her over the edge again. He left the room to get Healer Headley. She'd be better suited to handle her then.

* * *

_A/N: I almost made the solution too easy but I didn't. This story is still going. But now Harry and Ron will investigate what Mr Burgess knows. George, with the help of Charlie, will find out something too. And now we have the Draco and Luna alliance, but no Druna. This is a Dramione story and the Dramione moment at the end. Stay tuned._


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: And we're back for the next episode. So as I said at the end of the chapter: Draco and Luna are researching, George and Charlie team up and Ron and Harry do some digging. I couldn't find exactly what I meant when I wanted George and Charlie to team up, so I just hope it was this. RxR. FxF._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Draco found himself the next morning in Lovegood's office and everything about the room practically screamed 'Looney'. The walls were draped in shimmering mesh fabric which looked sky blue from one angle but red at another. There were strange plants hanging from pots from the ceiling, their long vines curling up and down like cats' tails. There was a large glass lens behind her desk, which made the items behind distorted beyond recognition but odd little dots would dart by randomly.

The only thing normal about the room was her desk, save for the odd baubles and paperweights she used. Currently, it was covered in many large, heavy tomes written in odd script and old languages and dialects, some from his study and some from the library at the hospital.

Luna had spoken to Healer Headley and asked to assign him duties for the next few days of his community service, which Healer Headley almost looked excited to hand him over to someone else. Not that Draco minded. Helping Granger, even if it involved leaning over copious amount of boring books, was much better than peddling potions to persnickety patients.

Luna's head was hidden behind a dull grey book called '_Ater Magicae_', her eyes hardly moving as she read. Draco yawned as he read the same line three times. These old books really were boring. But they hadn't found much, even after three hours of reading.

They had begun by searching the cures to the blinding pain mentioned on the page he had shown her yesterday. Each one they found were not cures but treatments, and their success was also not guaranteed as the information was outdated (easily by a thousand years).

After noting the best ones of the bunch, Lovegood had mentioned a bit of what she noticed in Granger. She described it like a big black ball of death. Draco may have been exaggerating the last part, but Lovegood actually wasn't sure if it would kill Granger or not, so it could be accurate. That inspired them to look into dark curses which sucked on their host or obstructed an organ without killing the person directly. Since that description was vague and vast, it was taking them a long time to find anything.

"How about this?" her voice floated over to him. "A large mass appears in the victim's stomach and consumes the food the person eats, effectively starving them to death."

Draco frowned, "I don't think so, Lovegood."

"I didn't either," she said.

Draco said, "This one causes a ball to go into the person's veins, so it moves and pulls energy from around the body. Do think one could have gotten stuck behind Granger's eyes?"

Lovegood leaned over and scanned the page herself. "No. These have to stay on the move to draw the energy, so it would die if it stopped behind her eyes."

Draco pulled the book back, wishing they would just find the answer and heal Granger. He felt a small hand on his shoulder and he looked up into the blonde girl's soft heart-shaped face, "We'll find the answer soon, Draco. If the attacker knew it, then the knowledge is not lost, just out of reach."

He couldn't stop the smile that graced his face. He needed some hope, just like Granger needed him to find the answer, just like he needed her.

* * *

The shop was alive this weekend and George had his hands full. Without his favourite nerdy witch helping at the counter, even if it was mostly her just sitting looking pretty, it just felt like they were getting swamped. He was glad that Charlie had come to help him out today, especially when Verity went to eat lunch in the backroom.

"Is it always this crazy around here, George?" Charlie asked uneasily, as he balanced a stack of skiving snackboxes while prying a small boy off a fragile display of smokebombs.

George held his hands high above the short children running past him, "Practically. Sometimes it's worse, but thank goodness for small miracles."

Charlie dropped the still standing pile onto the counter and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I don't think I could stand this everyday."

George laughed, "Big strong dragontamer can't handle a few kids?"

Charlie grinned, "I can't stand being cooped up in such a small space with so many unpredictable things. I prefer one large unpredictable thing in a wide space, thank you very much."

Suddenly, a little boy ran past them, his elbow knocking the stack to the floor, the small potion bottles inside smashing. George sighed and stooped to pick up the mess, "I'll head in the back and replace these. Man the counter please?"

Charlie gave a small whoop, "I get the easy job!" which George stuck his tongue out at before walking away.

Charlie was checking out a group of excited children when a frantic girl dashed into the store, knocking most of them down. "Hey, miss, you can't just do that," Charlie said, moving around to help the children up. But she ignored him as she scanned the store, her head spinning wildly. Charlie walked up and grabbed her arm. "Miss, can I help you?" he asked.

She finally saw him now and said, "Yes, I'm looking for you but not you, looks like you."

Charlie was confused. He had never seen this girl before and she hadn't seen him either but someone who looked like him, like-

"Him!" she practically shouted, pointed over Charlie's shoulder at George who was carrying the stack of snackboxes once more.

"Oh I know you, you're-" George began but then he stopped as he saw the scared look in her eyes. He ran up and put the snackboxes behind the counter for safety. "Is the man back?"

The girl nodded and said, "Come quickly. My gjyshe is keeping him occupied." She ran out of the store, the two red-haired men following behind. George called out to Verity who had just walked out from the backroom, "Be back in a moment, Ver."

They saw the interaction from a few feet away, right near the entrance of the haberdashery. It was almost comical: a large man being harassed by a small, white-haired grandma. Upon hearing their heavy, fast footsteps, the man turned to the new sound, ignoring the nagging old woman.

Maybe it was their number, maybe it was their size, maybe it was the looks of pure murder on their faces, but the man shoved the old woman to the side and took off. The girl and her uncle who was standing in the eave of the store rushed to the woman's aid as the red-heads gave chase.

The man ran ahead of them, his path listing to the side, turning ever so often to check on his pursuers. George and Charlie were gaining and the man knew it. He shot out into the main street, weaving through the crowd and George cursed. They may just lose him now. But George was tall and Charlie parted the crowd easily with his girth. They pushed through, the man luckily still within sight.

Then he ducked off into a side alley and George and Charlie sped up. If he got out of the alley at the other end without them seeing, he would really be gone. They entered the alley, the man almost at the end, when George pulled out his wand and fired a stunner above the man's head. It startled him, his feet stopping in fright. He spun around to face the heaving redheads, Charlie less as he was used to the exertion.

He fit the bill alright: burly, shaggy brown hair, slanted foot. The pair levelled their wand at the man, who was slowly backing away from them.

"Don't take a step further," Charlie shouted commandingly.

The man grinned and as if toying with them, moved backwards.

Charlie growled and fired a spell at the man who dove easily out of the way for a man with a limp. The man laughed and then turned on the spot. George reached into his pocket quickly and threw his hand forward as the man disappeared.

"Aahh!" Charlie screamed frustratedly, "he got away!"

George panted as he riffled through his pocket and pulled out a small little device. He pressed a button and a red light turned on. Charlie was curious and looked at the strange gadget. "What's that?" he asked.

George grinned, "It's a new product for the shop. For tactical pranksters who need to know where the target or like a teacher is at all times."

"A tracker like when we tag dragons at the reserve?" Charlie asked.

"Something like that. I threw the tag on him just as he disappeared and I think it stuck. The tags sending back some signal. Let's head back to the shop and call Harry and Ron," George said as they walked out of the alley, the gadget beeping steadily between them.

* * *

Ron threw a folder onto Harry's desk as he moved behind his friend's shoulder. With Ron standing on his right, Harry opened the folder and was met with the impassive face of Horace Matthew Burgess.

"This was all I could get on him that wasn't classified," Ron said as he spread the pages across the desk.

"He started working here 15 years ago, trained under Moody before he decided to specialize in foreign cases. He got promoted to his current position about 6 years ago. He was married but his wife died about three years ago and he has three kids, two sons and a girl. The girl is just a little older than we are."

Harry was nodding during Ron's summary, his eyes skimming the papers himself. "Maybe we can talk to some other people who work closely with him?"

Ron said, "Sure, but we don't want it going back to him that we've been asking around."

A light blue airplane landed on Harry's desk. Quickly unfolding it, he read the contents before saying to Ron, "George and Charlie have something to show us."

* * *

They were all at the kitchen table of the Burrow, George's tracker in the middle of the table. He and Charlie had just explained their chase with the mystery man and the tag on him.

"That was a brilliant idea, George," Harry said. "Now, we know where he is. How does this thing tell us where he is?"

"Well, it's not as good as an authentic tracker, because it's for kids and couldn't be too expensive. It works within a range the size of Hogwarts, because I figured they'd be pulling pranks there. If the person is nearby, the beeping will speed up and a dot shows on the screen. An arrow pops up pointing to the direction they are."

"Hmmm could you make a couple of these that will point to that one tag?" Ron asked. "That way each of us could carry one around."

George nodded, "I can give you all one in about two days."

Harry smiled, "Now, we're getting somewhere and we have something good to tell Hermione."

"How is Hermione, by the way?" Charlie asked.

"She's better and Ginny will be taking her home today. The burns on her arms are supposed to finish healing today," Ron replied.

"She's been feeling very down though," Harry added. "The Healer said she got over-emotional and her magic got out of control. Ginny tried talking to her but she wouldn't say anything. I think it's the same thing waking her up at night, but nothing we say seems to be helping."

"We should do something nice for her," George said.

"Let's throw a party," Ron said with a smile.

"Party?" Mrs Weasley asked as she stepped through the backdoor, her face covered in a thin sheen of sweat and slight streaks of dirt. She wiped the dirt on her hands on the front of her dress as she entered the kitchen. "Who's having a party?" she asked.

"We're going to throw a party for Hermione," George said, with a gleam in his eye.

Mrs Weasley beamed at them all, "That's wonderful. We can make it a welcome home party. I'll start the food."

Before anyone could say anything, Mrs Weasley was already sending all the utensils and ingredients into action. The boys laughed before they rose from the table to make party plans. But the thing is, how do you prepare a party for a blind person?


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Back with more fun stuff, but not too much. Just enough for now. I wasn't sure if I wanted the Weasleys to find out about Draco at the party or the day after, but I think this will work out well and now Luna is there for the party too. RxR. FxF._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Draco followed behind the blonde haired girl. He had never seen her so focused before and now he could see why she had been in Ravenclaw. Her face was pensieve as she scrutinized the list of potential solutions to Granger's problem, muttering in latin under her breath like it was her second language. She moved quickly to match his longer strides, his footsteps louder than hers muffled by her cloth shoes, which were bright blue with small pinwheels on top. Some things were still Looney.

They stopped outside Granger's room and knocked before entering. They froze in the middle of the room when they saw the bed empty, the sheets immaculate and no Granger anywhere.

Draco was going to ask when Lovegood said, "She must have left with Ginny already."

"Should we go and find her?" Draco asked. He really wasn't sure what to do now. This was now way above his and he didn't want to do anything that may jeopardize Granger.

Lovegood stood there for a moment in silence, her eyes still set on the list but now he could tell she wasn't really reading it. Then she turned to him and said, "Let me just get my bag and we'll head to the Burrow."

She quickly left the room, the few stray pieces from her bun floating above her head. Draco followed behind her half-heartedly, some of the wind knocked from his sails. He wanted to the help Granger, but now he had to meet a bunch of Weasleys.

* * *

After the episode, Ginny had come to pick up Hermione from the hospital. She had to sign a lot of papers and was given instructions on how to take care of the blind girl. Hermione was tired and she felt stupid, reckless and guilty. She just wanted to go home and curl up in a ball. That way she wouldn't injure herself or anyone else. She would stay out of their way. But she couldn't do any of that until the healer stopped talking.

"She's to take a teaspoon of this potion if she should have any pain, and she will have to rub this on the burns to ensure they don't scar as they heal. When she takes off the bandages tonight to bathe, she can leave them off as long as she rubs the balm on them," the healer instructed.

Hermione could feel Ginny nod beside her, the ends of her long hair fluttering lightly over Hermione's arm on the wheelchair. Hermione let out a soft groan, wishing this all would end.

There was more paper shuffling, some quill writing and then she felt Ginny's soft yet muscular arm pulling her up and out of the wheelchair. She put Hermione's arm over her own, bid the healer goodday and the pair walked towards the floos.

"I've had enough of all this, Ginny. I just want to go home," Hermione pleaded.

Ginny just patted Hermione's arm and said, "We're almost there." They stopped for a moment and Ginny spun her around and said, "The Burrow," before their feet left the ground.

* * *

Everyone's eyes were on the famed Weasley clock, in particular Ginny's hand. Ginny was bringing Hermione home any moment now. She should have actually been here earlier and they were actually a bit worried by what could be holding them up.

Then the hand switched from _Hospital_ to _Travelling_. They all grinned to each other and ran into position. George and Charlie stood on both sides of the fireplace, while Harry and Ron stood behind the couch. Mrs Weasley just smiled at their antics and took a seat on the couch in front of them.

The fireplace was filled with green flames and before them materialized a head of fire-red hair and another with fluffy brown hair. Hermione coughed as the flames died down, unaware of the people around her. Ginny was giving them an all odd look. "What's all this-" Ginny started but was drowned out by the sound of the loud confetti cannons George and Charlie had set off.

Hermione screamed, throwing her hands over her ears, wrenching herself out of Ginny's arm and running forward. Mrs Weasley leapt from the couch to steady the girl before she face-planted onto the living room rug. She grabbed her and said, "Hermione, calm down. There's nothing wrong."

"So what were those noises?" Hermione asked timidly, her head angled towards Mrs Weasley's soothing voice.

"Surprise!" the boys shouted softly. They all felt a bit guilty now, not thinking about how all this noise may seem frightening to someone who couldn't see. George grabbed some of the confetti from the noisemakers that had fallen to the floor, and threw it above Hermione's head.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Ron's quiet voice said, "We wanted to throw you a party to tell you how much we love and appreciate you. It was a surprise and you were definitely surprised."

Hermione wanted to be mad at them. They could see the crease in her brow and the frown on her lips. But then she broke out into a big smile. She left from Mrs Weasley's embrace and held her arms out. All the boys rushed to her and enveloped her in a large hug.

Ginny screamed from the outside of the huddle, "You could have let me in on the surprise!"

* * *

While Ginny was still complaining about being left out of the loop to her brothers, her mother and Harry, George took Hermione's hand and led her around the room. He held her hands out so her fingers could touch every surface and every decoration around the room. Though she couldn't see them for herself, with her fingers and the tips from George, she could tell that the room was decorated in blues and greens, her two favourite colours, and streamers were wrapped around the banister and hanging from the ceilings. There were a few matching balloons floating nearby and she could hear soft music playing from the wireless.

He led her to what felt like the archway to the kitchen and pulled both hands above her head. There was a large paper banner. Her fingers ghosted over it and she felt the indentations across its surface. It took her awhile before she realized that the indentations formed some sort of pattern. She moved her finger more slowly now, her braille still rusty, while trying to read them.

She gasped softly and it caused everyone to turn to her. She said softly, her voice breaking with emotion, "It says, 'We love you, Hermione," over and over again.

George pulled her into him and said, "Of course, we do Hermione. We all do and we just want you to know. We want you to be happy and know that we'll always be here for you no matter what."

Hermione was loudly sobbing and George had to calm her down. "Come, let's go into the kitchen."

She could feel the others around, each stopping to give her a hug, before heading into the kitchen before her. George sat her in a seat but she didn't feel anyone sit around her. Then there was a soft hissing and a heat coming from over her shoulder and then set in front of her. She could feel the burning on her face and the slight smell of melting wax.

Charlie counted down from 3 and then, "For she's a jolly good fellow, she's a jolly good fellow. She's a jolly good fellow that nobody can deny." Noisemakers were twirled and blown and tears of happiness gushed forth. "Blow out the candles," Harry said happily.

Hermione paused and thought, what would she wish for. Then she imagined the scene before her. She was here, surrounded by friends, who went all out for her to let her know she was special. She wasn't a burden or an inconvenience, she was just a part of them as she was before. She mattered and they loved her whether she was blind or not. Hermione blew out the candles with that image in her mind. She wished for nothing more than what she had already.

They all cheered around her, the noisemakers still going off. There were loud booms around her and she realized George had set off some type of firework. All types of noises were being emitted with it as she felt the sparks shower down around her. Everyone laughed as they heard the noise of chickens, cheering, cows, bells, rushing water and snorting pigs.

Mrs Weasley took up the cake and headed off to the side, probably to cut it off. George said, "Hermione, don't think for one minute that you don't matter. Look at what you've done. Because of you, I made two new inventions. One is yours exclusively, but these fireworks that cater not only to sight, but hearing, will be very popular once I put them in the shop."

Hermione smiled and then Mrs Weasley came back with a tray of slices of cake. Without the burning candles, she could smell the cake underneath. Chocolate, her favourite. Mrs Weasley placed the tray in the middle of the table where the cake once was and said, "Everyone, dig in."

Hermione made to grab a slice of cake but then Ron suddenly said, "Malfoy?"


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: Back after a long break. I've been so caught up doing one-shots for challenges and just because, that I put these on hold for a bit. But now, you guys get a new chapter! Yay! So in the last chapter, Draco and Luna crash the party. I hate fics where the Weasleys automatically gang up on Malfoy just because he's 'Malfoy', so that doesn't happen here. And poor Hermione, her party is ruined._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

"Draco?" Hermione said turning her heard to where she thought the archway to the living room was.

"Is that chocolate cake?" Luna said, stepping forward and taking one of the unpossessed slices.

"Luna?" Harry asked. "What are you and Malfoy doing here together?"

There was the sound of a throat clearing from the doorway and Draco said, "We have some news for Granger."

Luna swallowed, "Yes, news, that could be good, or bad, or great or horrible. It all depends on Hermione's choice."

There was silence except for Luna's chewing and Hermione shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Ron broke it, "I know you're working with Hermione at St Mungo's, Luna, but why is Malfoy here?"

Luna said, "He's been helping me, Ronald. This is some really good cake. Draco, have a slice."

"I'll pass," he said stiffly.

There was a soft hand on her shoulder, and Luna said, "We have a lot to talk about, Hermione. We'll wait in the living room while you guys finish your party. Thank you for the cake." And then her soft footsteps left the room.

There was still a pause and Hermione was unsure what to do.

"Did you know about this, Hermione?" Harry asked. She felt him and the others all take seats around her and reached for their own slice of cake. A plate was placed in front of her but right now, she no longer felt like eating it.

She shook her head, "I didn't know he was working with Luna." _**Why was he working with Luna?**_

"He looked very worried about you, Hermione. Is there something going on? It must be bad if even Malfoy's worried," Harry continued, his mouth filling with cake and muffling the last of his words.

Hermione took up her fork and put a piece of her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer immediately.

Someone else spoke up. "So what do you think they've come to talk to you about?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"According to Luna, it could be good or bad," Ginny said.

Hermione pushed herself away from the table suddenly. She had a sneaking suspicions what it could be about. "I have to find out what they have to say," she said moving away from her seat. She heard the other chairs move around her and she added, "Alone."

They all fell back into her chairs. She felt a rough hand in hers and a soft whisper, "We'll be in here if you need us."

She walked slowly out of the kitchen, mentally mapping her path through the archway and hoping no surprises lurked in her way.

"Hermione!" Luna called out. There were quick footsteps and then Luna pulled her to the couch. She took a deep breath and tried not to smile. She could smell him before she even sat down. She was in love... with his smell. Not him.

There was sound of shuffling papers and then they were passed in front of her. Luna said on her left, "So, Hermione, I enlisted Draco to help me with some research about your condition. Because of Draco's knowledge of the Dark Arts and his access to a library with such material, he and I have joined forces. From our sessions, I feel there is some dark magic involved. Every time I analyze you, there's a large dark mass right behind your eyes. For now, it seems dormant but we can't be sure. Unfortunately, we were still unable to find the exact information we need, but he do have possible solutions. The success of each one is also unknown, which is why we came to speak to you. Are you willing to take the risk?"

Hermione turned to both of them and shook her head and her hands emphatically, "No! It's too dangerous. What if your treatment triggers something worse? Like bleeding from my eyes or something, or I die? I don't want to try it until you're more sure of the effects." She wanted so badly to see but she didn't want things to get worse.

"But Hermione," Draco said on her other side, "there may also be the possibility that if we wait, you may get worse. We don't have much to go off of but it's a start."

"No!" Hermione screamed jumping away from them on the couch.

"Hermione!" they both said, grabbing onto her hands.

She pulled out their grasps and held her hands out to point at her face, hot tears streaming down her cheeks, "These are my eyes, not yours. It's my health on the line not yours. You can't make this decision for me and you can't expect me to decide right now. I'm hearing what you're both saying and I know it could get worse whether I do something about it or not, but I'm scared. I'm scared to move forward and to make something worse." She took a few heavy breaths and she could hear the soft noises from the kitchen stop and some people moving forward.

She took one more breath. "Just give me some time to decide, please. If I want to do the treatment, then I'll find you."

Then she walked quickly towards the stairs, narrowly missing the bouquets of balloons and avoiding the concerned arms that were reaching out to grab her. She reached for the banister and helped herself up the stairs as fast and dignified as possible.

* * *

Draco stared at bottom of the staircase where he had last seen her before she had been blocked from his position on the couch. He knew she would be a bit reluctant. Though she may have been a bit headstrong, Granger was still a girl of facts and logic. She would never jump into something as serious as this without extensive thought. But he and Luna had thought they could get through to her today. They didn't expect her fuse to blow so quickly.

"Malfoy? Luna? What did you do?" Weasley asked angrily but not as angry as he had usually seen the redhead. Draco could tell he was only muting his anger because Lovegood was here. If he had been here alone, Draco knew he would already be sprawled on the floor with a bloody nose. But Draco wouldn't have been here alone in the first place because of that same reason.

Draco sat back and allowed Lovegood to speak, "We were just talking to her about possible treatment for her eyes, but I guess we came on a bit too strong." Lovegood quieted and seemed to be running thoughts through her head a mile a minute before saying, "I should have stopped right after I told her about your involvement. She was the calmest then. She would have been more receptive."

"She had to know the truth, Lovegood. Granger would have asked the question even if you didn't tell her outright," Draco said while looking over the papers he had taken from her.

"Can I see those?" one of the Weasleys asked, the funny one. Draco eyed him strangely but didn't stop him from taking the papers.

"These are in Latin," he said plainly while sharing them among the others.

Draco was about to say something nasty, but Lovegood quickly said, "Yes, the spell is very ancient, old magic, so any documentation on it would be written in Latin. It's better to read the information in its original language or connotations may be lost in translation."

"You read Latin?" Weasley asked in shock.

Lovegood nodded before saying, "That sheet talks about some solutions to similar spells and curses but we couldn't find anything for the specific spell. It's still a lot of guesswork and it scared her."

They all nodded and then Potter asked, "So what do we do now?"

Lovegood rose and Draco followed suit. If she was leaving, he definitely wasn't going to stick around alone with the Weasleys. Lovegood collected the papers back from the Weasley clan and said, "Draco and I will continue researching and try to get Hermione some hard figures to consider. You guys just keep her as happy as possible. Please don't force her to take a side, even though it's best we at least try some form of treatment. Thank you for the cake and goodbye everyone."

Then Luna just strutted towards the fireplace, not checking if Draco was actually following her. He was waiting his turn in the fireplace when Potter said, "Malfoy, a moment?"

Draco froze. He could make a run for it and just pretend he didn't hear over the roar of the flames. But what would stop them from still finding him. He currently wasn't very hard to find since he was either home or at the hospital. With a sigh, he turned back around to face all the Weasleys.

"Yes, Potter?" Draco drawled.

Weasley frowned and the other Weasleys just looked at him speculatively. Potter continued, "Please do all you can to investigate Hermione's problem. If Luna's recruited you then she sees you as some type of asset to this research. Luna is very wise, if you haven't noticed, she's very good at trusting people, and she does this weird mind thing when she reads us. It's freaky.

Anyway, we're just asking that you work as hard as you can with Luna. We all just want to see Hermione happy and better. We don't like seeing her like this. That's why we threw this party... which was a bust."

Draco looked around at the decorations, the cake and the banner before looking down at his feet. "So that's what this was," he muttered under his breath. He had arrived during the one thing that could have brought Granger some joy after her episode earlier and he had essentially messed it up for her.

He looked back up, "Potter, I will do everything I can to bring back her sight."

Potter asked, "Do I have your word on that, Malfoy?"

Draco nodded before turning back to the fireplace. He said over his shoulder, "Yes, because I don't like seeing her like this either."

* * *

With the party coming to an abrupt end, the decorations were taken down and the cake put away. Hermione had yet to come out of her room and it had been a few hours. They were all a bit scared to bother her, instead preferring to hide at the kitchen table.

"You guys are such wimps!" Ginny said as she ran up the stairs to her bedroom and to comfort Hermione.

The boys remained at the table and all let out a relieved breath. Ginny was definitely the best person to deal with Hermione at the moment.

"Do you think Hermione should do the treatment?" Ron asked the question on everyone's mind.

"It's really up to her, Ron. It doesn't matter what we think," Charlie said sagely.

"But it has the ability to make her better," Ron said hopefully.

"But it also has the risk of making it worse. It's not a easy decision when everything's so unknown," Harry said glumly and the other boys nodded.

"We just have to do what Luna said - give her time to make her own decision and keep her happy. The party definitely helped before it ended, but we need to show her all the time," George said.

The other boys agreed but then George continued, "And we can do our part in apprehending the criminal and finding from the source the effects of that spell."

Harry's eye lit up, "We forgot to tell you. We overheard an interesting conversation at work which may mean something. We think our supervisor may know something more about this case. He wants to close the case within a month, which seems suspicious."

"Very," Charlie said. "Did you find anything more?"

Ron said, "We looked up as much information we could access at the Ministry on him. All we know is he's a widower with three grown children."

George thought to himself before saying, "You guys keep on that lead. I'll come by in the morning and give you guys the tracker copies. You might just find something interesting." Harry and Ron nodded.

"Aaah!" Ginny screamed, her hands covering her head as large books flew past her head and luckily missing their target. All the boys looked at the scared girl who said, "For a blind girl, she still has a good throwing arm."


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: No Draco in this chapter (That sucks!), but we see a bit of everyone else. Harry and Ron are getting closer and closer to the answer. George and Charlie are still looking out for the attacker. Luna is still reading. Ginny is concerned and Hermione is trying to be normal and getting used to being like this. This chapter was going to end a bit differently, but I'll push it into the next one._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

* * *

Harry and Ron walked through the Auror floor, each with a tracker in their pocket. George had stopped by that morning with them, he even gave one to Ginny just in case, and then headed to the shop with Charlie. They would keep an eye out in Diagon Alley if their suspect ever came back. Harry and Ron would check out the Ministry.

"I wish we could have seen George's memory," Ron groaned as he walked beside his best friend, his hand lightly touching the device through his trouser pocket.

"I know, Ron, but they've tightened security on the Pensieve room since we broke in there," Harry said. They both looked ahead and saw the same desk clerk but also two guards standing beside the doors.

"I still think that's a bit excessive," Ron said with a frown as he took a seat in Harry's cubicle.

"Maybe, but it's what Burgess ordered. Who knows? They might realize and soon we'll be able to get back in," Harry said as he sat down and started drawing a few files from his desk.

"We may not be able to wait that long, Harry," Ron said. "We don't know if Hermione's attacker will strike again. Right now, she's always been with one of us. Hermione's independent and this thing is killing her. You saw how she was yesterday. She'll want to go off on her own soon. I'm surprised she hasn't yet."

"I know, Ron. But there's not much we can do," Harry said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his tracker. "Right now, this is our best bet while Luna and Malfoy continue their research."

Ron frowned, "I still don't trust that ferret."

"Luna will keep him in check," Harry said with a nod.

Ron rose to his feet, "I'm going to do some skulking before I head to my desk. Lunch?"

Harry responded, "12:30."

* * *

Hermione sat the end of her bed rifling through her trunk. She hated living out of a tiny box like she was still at Hogwarts. She was a grown woman for Merlin's sake. She picked out outfit after outfit, trying to remember what they looked like but only having her fingers to feel out patterns and frills, and George's tips to tell her basic colours. In the end, she decided on a plain white tshirt and a pair of blue denim shorts. Safe clothes.

She grabbed her cane and headed downstairs. Ginny had left earlier this morning, as did the other Weasleys and Harry. Mrs Weasley had shouted up a few minutes ago that she had an errand to run. Hermione was left alone in the house, with breakfast waiting for her downstairs.

Hermione ate in silence, trying not to think about what Luna and Malfoy had said yesterday. She was scared, they all knew that, but they kept insisting on this thing. Couldn't they just leave her alone? It was her life and her eyes. She'd make the decision when she felt the time was right.

Hermione pondered while she ate what was she going to on her own today. Although she was annoyed with everyone's coddling, she knew she couldn't get very far without help. So a walk was out of the question. She could go outside and just enjoy the day, and Luna had given her a book to read before she shouted at her. Yes, a day outside sounded good.

* * *

His short walk about the floor had turned up nothing on the tracker and Ron had decided to head back to his cubicle to continue his paperwork. He had to make sure everything was finished so that after lunch, he and Harry could get some training time in.

"Weasley, a word please," a voice said as Ron was walking past an opening door.

Ron looked right and saw Mr Burgess' wide figure filling the doorway. He looked at the man appraisingly for a second before stepping into the office.

Mr Burgess walked back to his desk and pulled out a small file. "I have a small case here that needs attending to. Shouldn't take up too much of your time, a day or two. Get Potter to help you if you want. I know you two do everything together," Mr Burgess said, the last part mockingly. Ron took it all in stride. It would do no good to lose his cool over something so petty.

Ron took the file but noticed a picture frame on Burgess' family. He saw Mr Burgess, looking just a few years younger standing among three young adults. Ron spied the resemblance between the father and his kids, taking great care to memorize every feature and quirk of the people in the picture. His two sons had brown hair, like Burgess did, or had. The girl had long, fair hair that stopped at her shoulders. She smiled prettily at camera while one brother laughed with her. The other brother stood next to their father with a serious look on his face directed at something beyond the frame.

"Nice family," Ron commented.

Burgess' eyes flitted to the picture and said, "Yes. Those are my children: Matthew, Adam and Hilary."

Ron nodded and then Burgess said, "That will be all, Weasley."

* * *

"So, vat happened yesterday?" the girl from the haberdashery, who George finally learnt her name was Janis, asked. She had come by to check on the two redheads and was indeed curious about the whole thing.

"We lost the guy," George said glumly as he handed a young boy his change. "He apparated before we could do anything."

"I do hope you catch him, not just for your friend's sake. Gjyshe is really shaken up. The shop's actually closed right now. Not good for business," the girl said sadly.

"We'll get him. Don't worry, Jan," Charlie said confidently as he walked by with a tall stack of boxes.

"Hey, why don't you take one of these?" George said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another tracker.

"How many of those did you make?" Charlie asked curiously.

"A bunch. I want all people possible on the case," George said as he handed the device to Janis.

She inspected it with a wary eye before asking, "What is it?"

"It's a tracker of sorts. Just keep it on you and if the guy comes back around, it will start to beep. It'll give us a bit more time to get to you before he notices we're onto him" George explained.

Janis nodded and then placed it in her own little knapsack. "I can do that for you."

* * *

There was a knock on the door, slightly jingling the chimes hanging from the ceiling. "Come in," Luna called, momentarily pausing in her reading.

A head of red stuck through the space and asked, "Is this a bad time?"

Luna smiled and marked her position in the book before placing it down, "Not at all, Ginny. Come in."

Ginny stepped in, her eyes taking all the wonderful oddities that were just Luna before sitting in the comfy chair before the girl's desk.

"Why are you here today, Ginny? Don't you still have practice?" Luna asked, taking in the girl's currently dirty Quidditch uniform. She'd clean the chair after.

"Practice ended early today and I wanted to ask you something," Ginny said. Her eyes darted around the office, "Malfoy isn't here, is he?"

Luna shook her head but smiled, already understanding where this conversation was heading. She could see the cogs working in her friend's mind as she was trying to piece together what Luna already had. Ginny was always perceptive, but not so much herself. "He had some stuff to do with Healer Headley that I couldn't get him out of. I told him to just go home when he was finished and continue checking his own books."

Ginny nodded before saying, "Well I think you know why I'm here then." Ginny was also perceptive of Luna, which Luna found refreshing and odd at the same time. She liked not having to explain too much but maybe this is how other people felt when she read them.

"Yes, they have feelings for each other that they both refuse to acknowledge," Luna said.

"And you're okay with that?" Ginny asked the blonde. "It is still Malfoy we're talking about Luna. You were locked in his basement."

"Cellar," Luna corrected. "And I've gotten over that. He has too. He's trying to redeem himself and be a better person. I haven't done a full reading, but I can definitely see the changes inside. His aura is changing and his energy stores are fluctuating. The hatred is moving and being replaced with positive influences. And some of it is actually coming out onto the surface. He would have never even been in the same room with me before all this, Ginny. I trust him."

Ginny nodded and then gave a sigh of relief, "That's what I needed. I don't want Hermione to get hurt. But I know you always know best. You see these things and read people in the blink of an eye, not counting all that weird energy stuff you try to tell me about."

Luna laughed. "Yes, I've been able to that for awhile." Then her expression grew serious, "Please tell Hermione I'm sorry, but she needs to make a decision soon. Every book I've been reading says the longer we wait, any potentially dangerous magic left untended will get worse."

Ginny said, "I want her to get better too, but you know you have to wait on her. She's stubborn and strong-willed. She threw a book at me!"

Luna blinked and said, "Wow, blind too."

Ginny shrugged, "It was close but still off. That girl can do more with books than just read."

Luna continued, "Please talk to her, Ginny. She might listen to you."

"I tried, Luna, after you left. We just have to wait." Ginny said. She rose from the chair. "I have to head home. Hermione's probably home alone and I don't want her to feel lonely."

Luna reached into her desk and withdrew a book, "Give her this for me. It has a bit of information I copied out for her that I thought might be useful for her."

Ginny nodded as she flipped the book open and ran her own fingers over the little bumps, and then left the colourful office with the colourful girl.

* * *

Hermione sat under the same shady tree as the one she had with George laying in her lap. Her glasses were on the grass to her side as her fingers moved across the pages, her lips mumbling the words she was sensing. There were a few blunders but Hermione was catching enough to fix them. She smiled to herself whenever she got through a difficult passage. It was good to celebrate the little things.

She was just at the end of page, reading about a creature living the Baltic Sea with white scales when there was a painful jab behind her eyes. Her hands flew to her temples as she hissed in pain. _**What was that?**_

It came again, stronger than before and Hermione screamed out a bit. She felt around for her cane and glasses in the grass. She had to get inside. Maybe she needed to lie down or eat something.

Another jab and Hermione screamed out louder. The pain was larger and she felt the pressure building. She tried to get to her feet, extending her cane.

But then she fell to the side, landing on the soft grass with a thump, not hearing the scream coming from the house and the quick feet approaching her.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: I haven't updated in a while so I hope you guys are still around. In this chapter, Hermione finally makes the decision to begin the experiments. This is my shortest chapter so far. Sorry that not much happens in this one, but things will definitely happen in the next._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

There was a knock on the wall near the opening of the cubicle alerting Harry to the arrival of a newcomer. He finished the last line on his report before he looked up into the determined face of his red-haired best friend standing there with a yellow folder in hand.

"You're early," he commented, casting a quick glance at his watch that read 11:54. "But I can take lunch now if you'd like."

Ron nodded as he walked into the small space and placed a folder in Harry's hands. "That's not a problem, but I actually came to give you this."

Harry took it and started to skim its contents as Ron continued, "Burgess stopped me on my way to my desk this morning with this assignment for us. Said it should take one or two days tops."

Harry looked up into Ron's face, "But this is grunt work. We probably did something like this when we just started. Why can't he get one of the new recruits to do this?"

Ron shrugged. "Who knows how Burgess thinks? You know he hasn't particularly liked us since we came here. I wouldn't be surprised if he was just giving us this to keep us busy. It would be something he would find amusing."

Harry chuckled as he rose from his desk, putting the folder away into his desk drawer. "Isn't that the truth? Let's head out."

* * *

"...sitting under the tree before she fell over," a voice was saying on her right. Her mouth felt like cotton as she tried to understand what was happening around her. She was on something soft and it smelled like linen. How did she get to her room?

"I think she's waking up," another deeper voice said before she felt someone touch her hand. She flinched a bit though the movement was slower than she intended. "Hermione, can you hear me?" it asked.

She opened her mouth slowly but no sound came out. Her throat felt slightly sore and she began to cough. "Get Mum," the second voice said before she heard fading footsteps.

"Hermione, do you have any idea what happened to you?" the person holding her hand asked.

_Something happened?_ "Head...hurts..." she rasped out.

"Hermione," a scared voice said before she felt a cool hand on her face. She resisted the urge to flinch as the person continued, "We were so worried."

"Did you bring a potion, Mum?" the deep voice asked.

"Oh," she said. "Yes, Charlie, help me get her to sit up to drink it."

Before Hermione knew it, she was pulled up under her arms and odd-tasting liquid was forced down her throat.

"Don't drown her, Ginny," a voice scolded as Hermione began to cough. As Hermione swallowed though, she could feel the pain in her head lessening.

"Feeling better, dear?" the voice asked.

Hermione just nodded and then asked, "How did I get here?"

"Ginny just got home when she heard you screaming outside. She immediately floo-called the shop since she couldn't get a hold on Mum. I left George and carried up to to your room. Mum came home a few minutes later," the deep voice said.

Hermione nodded slowly and said, "I was just reading when I felt a horrible stabbing sensation behind my eyes. I tried to get inside on my own but the pain got so bad I probably passed out."

There was a pause before Hermione heard shuffling to her right and something heavy was placed on her lap. "I went to visit Luna today and she gave me this book for you to read. Please Hermione, maybe this thing is getting worse."

Hermione turned her head towards her concerned friend's voice, fingering the edges of the book on her lap. She could feel the waves of worry coming from the other Weasleys around her as well. She knew they wanted her to get better just as much as she did. She knew they didn't want to see her in any pain, and doing nothing was doing just that.

She swallowed and turned her head down to her lap. "I'll read the book now and consider Luna's ideas," Hermione said softly, trying to calm the fear that was setting into her heart from the dangers that may happen. She had to give this a shot, right?

* * *

"Lovegood, please tell me that you can take me tomorrow. I can't stand working under Healer Headley," Draco said as he walked through the door of the blonde woman's colourfully decorated office. His job today consisted of walking behind and writing down everything she and the patient said during her analyses. He knew she could easily magick a quill to take her notes, but she wanted him to do it 'for his impeccable penmanship'. _Old bat_.

She looked up momentarily from the old tome in her hands and said, "I'll send the request up to the Healers' office. In the meantime, you can continue going through the books over there. I have a feeling we'll need them when we start the treatments within the next few days."

"Start?" Draco asked as he took a seat near to the pile he had been reading the day before. "Granger agreed?"

Lovegood just smiled and said, "Not yet, but I had a talk with Ginny today and I have a feeling that Ginny will be able to convince her. This is really important and we need her to agree to it. Ginny will be able to stress that to her."

Draco nodded. This was very important. They didn't know anything much about the dark magic but anything could be better than just sitting around.

They sat in silence, the two of them just reading their respective books and taking notes, when the small fireplace behind Luna's desk suddenly turned green. A head materialized within the flames. "Luna, Malfoy," the female head greeted.

Draco just nodded to the female Weasley while Luna smiled and asked, "What seems to be the problem, Ginny? You saw me not a few hours ago."

The girl bit her lip before saying, "We had an incident with Hermione a while ago. I fear it might be the thing in her eyes. I gave her the book like you said and she seemed willing to consider your treatments."

There was a pause as the head turned to the side beyond the fireplace and began muttering. Soon her head disappeared and was replaced with another. Draco gazed at the tired, glowing face of the bushy-haired witch. She looked scared and slightly defeated, but she still said clearly, "I've read the book, Luna. When can we begin?"


End file.
